The Body vs the Soul
by LizzeXX
Summary: Spock/OC – After near three years in deep space, the bond between Spock and his Empathic mate, Cora, has only grown stronger despite a discontent around them. When a rescue mission becomes a trap and the two are separated, they will be forced to confront that discontent head on. Will they find each other again? And what is wrong with Cora's abilities? Third in the Vulcan Archives.
1. Another Day in the Fleet

A/N: Welcome! :) This is the third story in my Vulcan Archives collection, The Body vs. the Soul, featuring a Spock/OC pairing :) I would recommend any new readers check out the first two stories (The Mind vs. the Heart, and The Heart vs. the Body) to understand the relationship Spock has developed with my OC, Cora, as well as her backstory and her abilities. I'll do my best to recap some key areas throughout this story, but there may be some parts I miss ;) Just to warn, I haven't seen much of the original series or any of the different continuations/movies of it, so this story will be mostly based on the new-movies with some things I do know of Star Trek popping up.

This story will be about 10 chapters long, updated daily (as best I can manage), and will be a revision of the movie with quite a few original scenes and bridging moments put in. I try to add original scenes to give more background to Spock and Cora and what they'll be going through in this story ;)

I'm going to do my best to keep Spock in character, however, keep in mind, he is half-human and that is something the OC has been helping him accept throughout the first two stories. He has also been mated to the OC for about 3 years by this point, so he may act somewhat differently around her than he has Uhura in the movies :)

A small description of Cora: She is a humanoid alien, an Empathic, from the planet Hestia of whom, her species has been used as slaves by an invading species called the Mas'heirs centuries ago. On Hestia, the natives possess deep/rich colored hair (Cora's is a deep red) and light eyes, such as mints, teals, silvers (Cora's are teal). Empathics are a modest society, so Cora tends to wear a long sleeved version of the blue Starfleet uniform with black leggings and knee-high black boots, this is also due to scarring from the Mas'heirs various punishments. As an Empathic, she possesses the ability to sense and manipulate the emotions of those around her. An actress I picture as looking something like Cora is Brooke Williams :)

I hope you enjoy :)

~8~ is a scene break

Disclaimer...I don't own Star Trek just Cora and original moments...otherwise we'd have had Carol Wallace back as part of the crew ;)

~8~

Another Day in the Fleet

Cora stood beside Captain Kirk as the man spoke to a Delegation of Teenaxi, creatures that looked something of a cross between a frog and a hornless rhino, from what she knew of Earth animals. She was quiet, concentrated on the emotions of the room, holding a small box in her hands, it resting on her flat palms. It was a routine mission, they were to act as a third party to help broker a peace between another species, the Fobonane, and the Teenaxi. In such a situation, the Captain, of course, would be the representative. Often he or she would select a second to go with them as backup, should it turn hostile, or someone with more knowledge of the customs of the species in question.

When an Empathic was part of the crew, that 'second' position was automatically delegated to them. As she was the Empathic assigned to the Enterprise, it fell to her to join Kirk on this particular mission. Not that it was a surprise. She was often part of the landing crew whenever they touched down on a planet. When one didn't know the feelings of the natives to new people, it was best to have someone around that could help keep things calm or knock out potential enemies so they could get away. It was one reason Empathics were such an asset to the Fleet and worth the price spent to obtain one. Their ability to sense and influence the feelings of others transcended species. As far as the Fleet could tell, as far as the information gathered over years of testing and research, there was not a single species immune to their skills.

Already she could tell that this was going to be tricky. Spock had warned her that the Teenaxi were a stubborn race and easy to anger and fall to paranoia, volatile creatures. She could sense it even now, they were suspicious of the two humanoids standing before them. It would also be tricky in the sense that, while an Empathic could influence emotion in others, create feelings at times, by Fleet regulations they were NOT to force another species to agree to treaties. They could make them calmer, more willing to listen, but they were not to make them eager to agree or make them sign, nor could they attack or torment them into signing. Not that an Empathic _ever_ would resort to harm to get their way, it was against their nature. To cause harm was to feel harm.

At most, she could try to calm the Teenaxi down, keep them from attacking.

"My name is Captain James Tiberius Kirk," Kirk began as he spoke to the aliens, "And this is my associate, Cora. We are with the United Federation of Planets. We're appearing before you as neutral representatives of the Fobonane Republic. We bring you a message of goodwill and present to you, esteemed members of the Teenaxi Delegation, a gift from the Fobonane High Council with the highest regard."

Kirk gestured for Cora to step forward and she did so, opening the box to reveal a small, somewhat triangular shaped white object within.

"What's wrong with it?" one of the Teenaxi called down from where they were all gathered high above them on a ledge that circled the room.

Kirk glanced at Cora, though the girl looked equally confused by the question, "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Why don't they want it anymore?"

"Well…this was once a piece of an ancient weapon but now they offer it as a symbol of…of peace. In the Fobonane culture, to surrender a weapon is an offer of truce."

"How did they come by it?"

"They told us they acquired it a long time ago."

"So they stole it then!" the Teenaxi shouted.

Cora winced slightly at the suddenness of it, taking it as a cue to begin her work to try and keep the creatures calm.

"No," Kirk tried to salvage it as well, "They...um...well..."

"You don't know the Fobonens like we do," the Teenaxi began, sounding like he was starting to shout but lowered the volume a bit when Cora's efforts began to be felt.

"Yeah, that's…that's very true," Kirk sighed, "Your Excellency, this gift..."

"They are crowds of untrustworthy thieves who want to see us murdered in our own beds!" the Teenaxi began to shout again, Cora trying to flood the room with calm.

Kirk nodded his head at her, feeling her work himself, which he was grateful for. Just moments ago, all he'd wanted to do was throw in the towel and walk off, but he felt her peace settle over him and felt this may still work, "This beloved artifact is a symbol of trust and peace…"

"They will chop us into pieces, and roast us over a fire," the Teenaxi's voice quickly changed from a shout of anger to a cry of fear.

So Cora tried for reassurance.

"I don't think that's true..."

"And eat us!"

"What?" Kirk shook his head at that, completely lost as to how this had gotten so far into hysteria with Cora there.

Cora didn't seem fully shocked though. It was not uncommon for species that were volatile to change emotions quickly. It was just a matter of catching up or changing them back to calm and peace.

A moment later, the delegate jumped from above, rolling down a curve in the wall and roaring at the two of them when he reached the bottom. It would have been intimidating…had the Teenaxi not been the size of a Tribble. However, unlike a Tribble, the Teenaxi was vicious and launched itself at Kirk.

Cora dropped the box, rushing forward and reaching out to grab the creature, pouring calm into it as she pulled it off him, setting the creature down. Only for the rest of the Teenaxi to follow their leader, leaping off their upper ledge and rolling down to overwhelm them.

"Sleep!" Kirk shouted over to Cora as they were swarmed by the Teenaxi, all of them trying to claw at the humanoids, "Sleep, Cora! Now, please!"

Cora focused as best she could while being attacked, holding her hands out to try and send the Teenaxi to sleep while also trying not to catch Kirk in the crossfire of it. She frowned deeply, finding it harder to dredge up that emotion within herself to spread among the Teenaxi. That was how Empathics operated, they could create emotion in others, but only an emotion they themselves had felt. They had to feel that emotion, draw it up within them, and essentially transfer it to others. Subtly or with force, through projection or physical touch, she could do it all, she had felt it all. The Mas'heirs, the ones who had gained control of her planet, they made sure to train their slaves well. Especially the eleventh children, like she was. They were the ones typically sold off-world, they had to be the ones trained in all manner of emotion, as wide a range as the Mas'heirs could manage.

There were very few emotions the Mas'heirs couldn't manage to ensure they knew. The ones that could not be induced or felt naturally would be introduced via another Empathic who _had_ experienced such emotion. Love, being one of them. The Mas'heirs were strict with their breeding programs, they left no room or chance of love to form naturally between the male and female Empathics. So it was difficult to teach an Empathic, an eleventh child, that emotion if they were to be sold off-world. They had experienced familial love, platonic love, but not other forms. So Empathics who had felt the other forms of love would be brought in to share that emotion, so that an eleventh child would be able to mimic it if needed off-world.

She felt as though she had experienced everything, exhaustion was one that never failed her in dangerous situations. She had taken down Romulans and other humans with as much. She merely had to recall how exhausted she had felt one time or another, and replicate it in others.

But, right now, she was finding it difficult to muster it up. It wasn't unusual when she didn't have a moment to prepare or distance to draw the emotion up during. If she was ready and prepared, like walking through a ship and knowing someone could jump out at every moment, she could bring it to the surface instantly. This was supposed to be a diplomatic mission, not an attack, so it took a bit more doing. It was certainly not something to be alarmed at.

Soon enough though, the Teenaxi were staggering on their feet and slumping down, sleeping.

Kirk let out a breath, looking at his shirt which was ripped at the shoulder, and over at Cora, "Thanks, Cor."

"You are very welcome, Captain Kirk."

He rolled his eyes, "Seriously, Jim _is_ fine."

Cora merely smiled. He had been after her to call him Jim instead of Captain Kirk or James T. Kirk, when in an 'off-duty' capacity, for ages now. And while she _had_ called him Jim in the past…it seemed to only come about after near death experiences, of which there had not been many thanks to her efforts to keep things calm. It just...it wasn't proper to be so informal.

"Scotty?" Kirk called into a comm., "Get us out of here."

"That was quick!" Scotty's voice came through.

"Negotiations did not end well, Montgomery Scott," Cora offered.

"Losing your touch, Lassie?"

"Scotty!" Kirk huffed.

"There's quite a bit of surface interference, sir. It'll just be a bit…"

Kirk had just turned to look at Cora, who had knelt down to pick up the box she'd dropped pulling the Teenaxi off of him, when they were beamed up.

It wasn't till they appeared in the bright room of the Enterprise that they realized two of the Teenaxi had come with them, one seemed to have latched itself to Kirk's boot when it fell asleep and hadn't let go, and another had been dangling from the back of his shirt, leaving large rips in it when two of the crew tried to pull it off him.

Cora looked over at Kirk for a moment when the man let out a long breath, sensing a plethora of emotion from him. The largest being exhaustion, but not a physical one, more of a bone deep weariness. It was mixed with many other things, boredom, exasperation, resignation, irritation, and disappointment. It wasn't directed at anyone, it was all internal. She couldn't help but clutch the box in her hand tightly as she observed him in concern. Sometimes the crew forgot she could sense their emotions, which she was grateful for, to know they were so comfortable around her and truly saw her as one of the crew. The last thing she would ever want was them to hide things bothering them.

But Kirk was a difficult man to confront about his feelings. Often the emotions she felt off others, those of a sorrowful or downward sort, she could help with. She could subtly give a boost of happiness or release, slowly and carefully so they wouldn't know, so they would think they had come to terms with what was bothering them on their own. Or, if they were truly extremely concerning emotions, she could bring it up to Dr. McCoy and the medical teams could authorize one of the psychologists to help as those were underlying conditions that she could help treat for a time, but it was not a permanent solution.

Kirk was also more aware of her abilities and she felt like it was an invasion of his privacy to change his emotions when it wasn't a threatening or high tension situation. If an argument broke out among crew or on a mission, it was her duty to calm things, this was not that sort. He was entitled to feel how he felt, she just wished he would speak about it.

"I ripped my shirt again," Kirk murmured as he stepped off the teleport, Cora following him dutifully.

"You alright, Laddie?" Scotty called, but Kirk didn't answer, Cora offering him an apologetic look before she stepped out of the room.

"Cora!" a voice called as she and Kirk moved down the hall, Spock and Doctor Leonard McCoy joining them, McCoy already with a scanner in his hands to make sure they were both uninjured.

Cora turned, smiling brightly when she saw Spock, "Spock!" she greeted, offering him two fingers as well, though beaming more when he leaned in to kiss her on the lips instead.

In larger crowds or around more of the crew, they followed more of the Vulcan customs. She was always very sure to allow Spock to initiate physical contact as she knew Vulcans were less physical and more intellectual. She _never_ wanted to make others feel uncomfortable, and she loved Spock a great deal. But ever since his Pon Farr almost three years ago, the completion of their mating bond, he seemed comfortable with expressing physical touch and affection with her even when they weren't in the privacy of their rooms, but among friends in small numbers.

It made her feel warm and bright inside when he did that. To know he felt alright with such actions. Her people were very emotionally based, physical touch was a comfort and treasure to them. It was odd how she and Spock worked, but they did. She felt the emotion he couldn't always express, and his customs and how he held himself was like a moment of stability and calm and peace when surrounded by chaotic emotion. She challenged him to accept his human side, to be both human and Vulcan and not just one, and he challenged her to focus. They worked, and seeing these small gestures, how freely he bestowed them on her, she could never contain the elation she felt when he gave her something as small as a kiss on the lips instead of the Vulcan kiss of touched fingers. She felt like it was a moment of connection between them, a moment of completion and contentment and…

"Cor, if you could reel it back a bit?" Kirk's voice cut through her thoughts as she pulled back from the small kiss.

"I do not understand," Cora spoke, blinking at him a moment.

"You're sort of projecting there, Red," McCoy told her, both he and Kirk appearing a little uncomfortable, shifting on their feet and not really looking at either her or Spock.

Cora stared, "I was…projecting?" she repeated, sounding both stunned and very confused.

She…had not realized she had been projecting her emotion like that. She could, of course, project emotion in general, it was how she was able to influence others without need to touch them physically. Though it was often more subtle, sometimes subtle enough where they didn't realize she was doing it and that it wasn't their own emotion in them. But she _always_ had control over it, she would _consciously_ choose to do so. She had never projected without intention before.

"Have done the last few times one of you've come back from a mission," McCoy answered, taking a deep breath as he felt the emotion starting to recede, "Thanks, Red."

"My apologies," Cora murmured, a small frown on her face, startled she'd lost control of her abilities like that without realizing, and more than just this one time apparently.

"It's fine," Kirk waved it off, a small smile on his face, "Understandable."

Spock gave Kirk a nod of thanks, knowing from the faint flush on Cora's cheeks that she was a bit embarrassed she'd slipped, "Did you manage to broker a treaty with Teenaxi?" he changed the topic back to the mission.

Kirk sighed at that, turning to start walking once more, "Eh, let's just say we came up short. Cora did her best, neutralized the threat against us, kept the situation from escalating. Could you uh…log that and put it in the vault, Spock?" Kirk pointed back at the box in Cora's hands, "Thank you."

"Jim, you look like crap," McCoy spoke as they continued walking, glancing at Spock when the Vulcan continued to follow as Cora did and had to smirk. Cora was following as she hadn't been dismissed yet, but Spock was following Cora.

"Thank you, Bones," Kirk muttered.

"You've got that little vein popping out your temple again, you ok?"

"Never better," he huffed, "It's just another day in the Fleet."

"Do you require my assistance, Captain Kirk?" Cora offered.

Kirk turned, walking backwards as he spoke, "No, Cor, thanks though. But I'll be fine," he winked, plastering on a smile before he turned down a hall, McCoy going after him as Cora and Spock slowed to a halt.

"Do you wish to accompany me?" Spock asked Cora, taking the box from her.

She smiled up at him, "I would, yes, however, there is something else I must do first."

Spock tilted his head to the side in question, knowing she could sense his curiosity off him, "Oh?"

"It shall be, I hope, a surprise."

"A surprise?" he blinked.

She nodded, "I will meet you after? We can talk then."

Spock nodded, smiling slightly when she leaned in to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. He would not lie, as Vulcans do not lie, and say he had not grown to enjoy these displays of affection between them. The solitude of space, their time together on the Enterprise, it had helped them grow stronger and closer, but she was right, there was something growing in him, a discussion they needed to have, that she could sense he wished to speak of. He watched as she moved to go down the hall, in the opposite direction of Kirk and McCoy, but also in the opposite direction he was going as well.

He let out a breath, his smile starting to fall when she disappeared around a corner. He was not sure how this conversation was going to go, but the longer it waited to be had, the worse, he feared, it would. He took a breath in and shook his head, it would be illogical to worry before the conversation was held. And so, he turned and walked to the Vaults to put the artifact away as requested.

~8~

Cora smiled and nodded at the few crew members tending to the small garden of the Enterprise. It was something meant to help with the air filtration and also with providing the crew with some fresh vegetables every once in a while. There were some flowers too. A few different species required meditation at times and so the Fleet had ensured all ships were equipped with an area of the gardens to help, a tranquil spot for rest and reflection. The flowers and other plants there were specifically selected as to not be wasteful, they could be used for medicine too. It was good for the other crew members as well, to have a place that wasn't all technology and black or white colors, something real to return to when it became too much.

She wasn't sure what she was looking for exactly, this was not something she had experienced before. She truly wasn't sure her suspicions were even correct. But there were factors coming around that made her…concerned. She had never been introduced to this, it was not something she or her family or the Mas'heirs had ever considered. The eleventh child of a Hestian family was often sold. The only time they weren't was when there was some sort of physical deformity or injury that keeps them from going off-world. The Mas'heirs could not be paid a good price if the eleventh children were not perfect in all ways. She had endured no such fate, though there were whispers of others who would injure themselves for the sake of not being sold, fearing their new masters may be even worse than the Mas'heirs were. As such, no one had told her anything of this.

The projecting. From whispers she heard on Hesita, the projecting of emotion without intention was a symptom, a sign, the first sign.

And, while facing the Teenaxi, she was now suspicious she had experienced the second.

From what she knew, the two other Empathics the Fleet had purchased before her had not experienced the traits as she had.

They were small details, but they were concerning to her. Small things she may not have even noticed had it not been for Spock, of all people. He had helped her focus more, meditate. He'd taught her Vulcan methods to help her keep herself together in hard times. When she had experienced and endured the death of the planet Vulcan, it had been something concerning to Spock for a long time to come. When she and some of the crew had been held by Khan, when she had experienced phantom pains that the others with her had endured, it only grew more so to Spock. He had asked her if she might like him to teach her some meditation techniques to help her focus through the pain or other emotions. It would do little against a planet-wide event, but if the crew was injured around her, it might help her focus enough to hold the emotions and pain at bay so she could get away or help. He _never_ wanted her to be as crippled as she had been after Vulcan's demise.

She had found that she noticed other things as a result. She was more aware of her abilities through the meditation techniques. On Hestia, and even among the Fleet, it was common for Empathics to hold in their own emotions and attempt to dull within themselves the emotions of those around them. Spock had noticed her struggles with it first, it was why she hadn't done well in his Languages class, why he had suggested private lessons back in the Academy. Because she had not been used to non-Empathics around her and the emotion everywhere had been overwhelming and distracting. During meditation, it was like she could actually focus on the emotion in a safer space, focus on what _she_ felt just herself, focus on the emotions inside her that she could bring up.

Now she was a little more aware of herself and what she could do.

But what was concerning to her now, the signs, how she hadn't noticed until others had mentioned it. She _shouldn't_ have been projecting. She'd worked hard during her time on the Enterprise, she had more control, and yet she had projected her emotions? It didn't make sense, it shouldn't have happened.

And yet…realizing she had done so had made her reconsider her past use of her abilities. It made her think back to the mission with the Teenaxi. It wasn't uncommon for her to struggle just slightly to bring up a specific emotion if she wasn't ready to use it. Or that was what she had thought during the moment, in the middle of needing to use it, but with the words the others had said…she wasn't quite sure if it was just a surprise any longer or truly the second sign.

She had had no issue bringing up feelings of calm and peace. But it HAD taken her longer to dredge up exhaustion and sleep. It shouldn't have been so. Had it been anger or pain or torment, she could understand that. It was an emotion she was reluctant to ever use on another.

The Mas'heirs made sure they endured enough pain to know what every torturous moment could feel like. They were inventive when it came to exploring different types of pain. There were two reasons for it. Control, as Empathics would not attack the ones who could so easily hurt them in such a way. But also…power, as the Mas'heirs would have people who could use that pain on others that would dare attack them. Empathics were peaceful, from what was said about her people before the invasion, and she believed it. They did not like to cause harm, because they had to feel it first in order to inflict it, and when they were inflicting it, they felt it off the person they were hurting. It was an endless loop. The Mas'heirs had ways of forcing them to war for them. SHE had never experienced it, she thanked whatever powers there were for that, but she knew it had been done in the past. The Mas'heirs had made them war and fight for them, kill for them. And it twisted in her gut the knowledge that she could, kill that is. The right amount of fear or pain and the body wouldn't be able to handle it, it would shut down, the strain would be too much to bear. It made her ill to think of those in the past that had been forced to do so.

It was harder to bring up the painful emotions to use them. The pain itself, the reluctance, the natural desire not to harm. She expected to struggle there, but exhaustion was not something she'd had troubles with in the past. She had used it before and had no issues.

Two traits, two very small changes in her abilities, and she knew something more was happening.

And that was why she was there, in the gardens. It wasn't for meditation though, it was to test her concerns.

She moved over to a line of small flowers, a few which had just been planted, and knelt on the grass beside them. She looked down at the small plants, the flowers on one had only just started to bloom but some were still closed. She tilted her head as she eyed them.

She wasn't sure what to do.

She had only heard rumors on Hestia. She had never seen it for herself, this test she intended to take, only heard some words here and there. She had never been one of the ones who _wouldn't_ be sold. The Mas'heirs, her own family, had never thought to tell her about any of this. It was expected of those who would remain on Hestia, not those to be sold. But, then again, there were many things she had not known or been taught when she'd left Hestia.

Her first realization that she had much to learn was just in observing other Cadets together. She had entered the Academy halls and, almost instantly, had seen two Cadets pressing lips together. It was something so simple, but complicated. She hadn't even known a thing about courting customs till she had reached Starfleet Academy, she didn't know any other customs but her own and what if she insulted someone on accident? The Fleet was surprisingly helpful with learning, though she supposed they had to be. With so many different aliens joining, they had courses set up to discuss not just languages but customs as well. She had been both curious and more than a little startled at what she'd learned during them. The Fleet did not want any sort of conflict or misunderstandings to brew between their officers or crew. There were archives and entire sections of the handbooks available to all cadets that detailed alien cultures and customs to avoid such things.

She had learned and known what to avoid and what to look for. She had studied the Vulcan customs in depth from the moment she realized the feelings she got around Spock were not just from HER.

But there was nothing much in there about Empathics. There were very brief descriptions of her people, their abilities, but nothing about their customs. Because there was not much known. The Mas'heirs had wiped out nearly every piece of their past, taken almost every tradition from them. And not many of the Fleet expected their Cadets or crews to ever encounter an Empathic up until the Kelvin. The Captains, of course, were given more detailed instructions of how to proceed with an Empathic as crew, what permissions to grant, how to utilize their skills. But for Cadets, that wasn't as much an issue.

Spock had always been very considerate of her, taking care with his words and actions to ensure she found no offense in them. Given her experiences and treatments by other Cadets during the Academy days, she could not imagine the two Empathics before her had been so lucky as to have a half-Vulcan among their crew. Indeed, as far as she knew, she was the only Empathic to begin a courtship and complete a mating with another Fleet member.

She shook her head from her thoughts and moved to reach out for the plants, but hesitated, pulling her hand back a moment later. She swallowed and looked around. For the moment, she was the only one there, there was no one to see if she was wrong in her suspicions. Spock wasn't there.

That was part of her hesitation. If she was…if she was wrong, she didn't know what it would mean for Spock. She…part of her wanted her concerns to be real, but part of her didn't. She didn't know how Spock would feel. It was one thing to feel his emotions as they occurred, it was another to know how he would react to something in the future. And this test could change everything between them. How would he react from a human standpoint? From a Vulcan one?

Another part of her hesitated for fear of what this test would reveal. She didn't know how SHE felt about it either. She didn't know if she would be happy or fearful or disappointed. She wouldn't know till she went through with the test, but it was hard to actually _do_ so. What would it reveal? What did she want?

Well, she knew what she wanted. She was just…frightened. That was the emotion behind it. Frightened. There was so much unknown about this, both because of her people but also…herself. Spock. The Fleet. The crew. Their mission. Her abilities. What would it mean for her abilities if this test proved true? There was so much to consider and she felt like she was going to faint from the sheer overwhelming sensation.

She closed her eyes a moment, taking a breath. She could almost hear Spock's voice in her mind telling her to be calm, telling her that it would be illogical to worry for something that had not yet been determined. She smiled slightly at just the thought.

That was another thing she would need to test, when this one was done.

The times she heard Spock in her mind, more so the time she had heard him recently, it was always _far_ too clear and sounded far too much like him that she felt she wasn't imagining his voice at all but that he was truly speaking to her in her mind. He had a mental connection to her, just as she had an emotional one to him. It would not surprise her if it had grown so strong over the years that he could do more than just read her mind but speak to it directly. Or perhaps it was HER, perhaps _she_ was the one able to hear his thoughts now? She did not know. So much of her people's culture and history had been lost, the full extent of what they could do erased by the Mas'heirs.

But that was something to explore at another time.

She opened her eyes and looked down at the little plant. She reached out with her hand once more, and held it just over the still-closed buds. She stared at it, her hand shaking slightly, and held her breath.

She wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't sure if she was doing this right at all. She probably wasn't. There was no written documentation of this. It was, as the humans would call it, an old wives tale of sorts, oral tradition on Hestia, a whisper among her people. One that had never been intended for her to know. She probably hadn't heard it right, she was probably doing this wrong and…

She let out a small breath when, before her eyes, the plant began to bloom under her hand, slowly but surely. She watched in awe as the small closed buds opened to reveal the beautiful flowers within. But…it didn't stop there. The flowers, it was like they were growing, like they were reaching for the sun but stopped just under her hand, not that they had far to grow as her hand was quite close to begin with. The petals tickled her palm.

She pulled her hand back, curled in a fist and pressed against her heart as she stared at the flowers.

For a brief moment, her mind raced with the implications and she knew, without a doubt, she was projecting a large amount of anxiety and fear at the moment. She swallowed hard and did her best to 'reel it back' as the Captain had called it. Trying to steady her breathing…

At least she had not gotten the old wise words wrong.

Now…now she just had to speak to Spock about what she had learned.

A/N: And we're back! :D I'm really sorry this took so long to get up after the third movie :( A lot happened, weddings, divorces, jobs, stress, therapy, among other things :/ It took much longer than I wanted to get this up, but it's finally happening lol :)

For this story, I can say one theme that I'll be exploring, is growth and change, what's good for the soul? Here, Cora is realizing something has changed regarding her abilities, what will that mean for her? She's grown so much from the girl who entered the Academy, but she still has so much farther to go, what will she learn about herself in this installment? Spock, as we saw in the movie, feels that there are areas where he can grow and change in himself, what will it mean for him? What will it mean for each other? For their bond? And what is pushing them towards these changes? How will they be resolve? What will grow between them or shatter as a result? I'm very interested to find out :)

My heart breaks a little for Cora though. Something is going on with her abilities, but so much has been lost from her culture due to the Mas'heirs she's really going in blind and not really sure what's happening to her :( It's sort of like, if you hear through the grapevine that 'chocolate is good for you' but nothing else and have no one around to ask, you're like 'but WHICH chocolate? all chocolate? chocolate bars? candy? ice cream?' and then you try and figure it out for yourself but all you end up getting is a stomachache :( That's probably a really bad example, lol. I just feel so much for her, she knows the basics of her abilities, some of her language, but so much was erased and taken from her that what she does know isn't a help. It's like there could be a huge sign warning 'danger is ahead,' but over the years it's been worn away to the point where only 'er' is left :( And it's worse because no one else can even really help her. So little is known about Empathics, not even Spock for all his knowledge would be able to do much :'(

And, just to end, mostly putting this here because I've promised my sister I would actually tell people it. I made a page called ko-fi, where people can show support of a person by contributing a 'cup of coffee' to them. It's not a real cup of coffee, it's a donation that is roughly the cost of a cup of coffee, or about 3 dollars. The link is up on my profile or on my tumblr's LINKS page if anyone is interested. There's no obligation, requirement, or commitment, it just sort of feels to me like a little 'let's talk about your work over a cup of coffee' ;)

Some notes on reviews...(from the end of THVTB)...

The Kirk/OC was posted a short while after I finished Cora's series. But since this has been so late with being updated lol, I can also say that the next Kirk/OC story for Beyond will be up, probably around...the end of November. I'm alternating between movie-stories with Captain America, the Loki/OC, and then the Kirk/OC. As for the Khan/OC that may not be up till the end of next year or even early 2020. Only because I plan to get the Bones/OC up after I catch up all my movie-stories and I'll probably aim for some space between Bones' OC and Khan's ;)

That was something I struggled with, Spock's reaction to Kirk's death with Cora there. I wanted him to be devastated Kirk was gone, but I'd also spent the entire story building up his reactions to Cora that I felt like, in the middle of Pon Farr, he'd be more attuned to pain dealt to his mate :( He was still very upset Kirk had died because of Khan, the Pon Farr just sort of forced that to the background :(

We actually DID find out how Chekov managed to get Cora to shorten his name ;) It was in chapter 4 of The Heart vs. the Body, it talks about how Chekov asked Cora to shorten his name by asking her in her native language, the Empathic language, which he went to Spock for help learning :) Because he had been so considerate and went to so much effort, she honored his request :) So far he was the only one to have thought to ask her that way ;)

Lemons and limes, as I've come to understand it, is a term for explicit sex depictions in fanfiction (lemons) and a story that has sexual themes but isn't always explicit (limes). I mostly try to keep sex out of stories or briefly mention it happening behind closed doors or as a throwaway line or teasing remark. It's sort of a combination of me looking at my OCs as my babies and not wanting to think of them doing that, and also seeing the characters in general as people and respecting the things they do in private. That and any attempt I've ever made at writing a sex scene ends up reading like an Ikea manual to assemble a cabinet so...not very good lol :) But lol, a Pon Farr perfume :) I agree, Spock was not being quite so intelligent in trying to evade the Pon Farr. I feel like he realized what was happening and tried to use an extreme amount of logic for why it shouldn't happen and how there HAD to be another option but Cora set him straight ;)

I can understand the heebie jeebies with Pon Farr. To me, it was intriguing to write it but I also felt bad for Spock, because it's something he has no control over that drives him into a state that is so against his normal behavior and personality that I just felt sad he couldn't stop it, that it sort of turns him into something unrecognizable to himself and others :( At least it lead to something good in the end for his bond with Cora. I always try to leave the private moments behind closed doors and, well, private lol :) So we may get a lead up to intimate moments, but not the full action ;)

Understandable about the Fleet inclusiveness. In this story-universe, it's not so much the Fleet buying a slave, as more...there's a planet full of them, but they can't really DO anything to free them. I think, somewhere in the Star Trek universe, I read that there was an entire slave trade going on that the Fleet couldn't stop due to non interference. So long as they weren't taking Federation officials or representatives, the Fleet couldn't fight back or change that culture. It's similar here with Hestia, they can't invade a planet and change the culture just because they don't agree with it :( The Empathics have been trained and are too afraid/submissive to ask for the Fleet's help and Hestia isn't affecting anything significant off-world, it's not making threats against the Federation or planning war against other Federation planets, so there's not much to do :( What they CAN do is try to help in some small way, by getting an Empathic off when they can afford to do so. They do free the Empathics, they don't force them to join the Fleet, but they do end up joining anyway in gratitude. As we saw with Marcus, sometimes an area of the Fleet will 'turn a blind eye' to something they know is wrong to get something out of it, like how Marcus authorized firing on another planet even though he knew it was against regulations. The Fleet has worked out that the Empathics would be so grateful they'd join the Fleet out of a feeling of debt, and they sort of 'allow' it to happen and don't really argue much about how they have other options. We'll see more when Jaylah appears at one point the Empathic notions related to gratitude which will explain more. As for Cora's race, inclusiveness is a big thing for the Fleet, I agree. They may not be seen as Fleet-material due to what the Fleet knows of them and their 'reluctance' to leave their planet or get involved in battle situations, there's also the fact that the Fleet can't really obtain more Empathics than they are at the moment, so Fleet-material may also mean the Fleet's willingness to gain more for the Fleet. They can't really recruit on Hestia, nor would an Empathic volunteer to join the Fleet from their home-world as the Mas'heirs have too tight a grip on their slaves :(

I can't say if I'd do another Spock/OC with a non-Cora OC. I've done a few different OC series for my Doctor Who stories, but I feel like those mostly happen because dimensions and things like that, it could be possible for him to have a different life depending on the dimension and OC. It might be possible here for Spock since we saw how Spock Prime's efforts altered time and reality for the crew. For the moment, the only OC jumping out at me for Spock is Cora, but I can say I have at least one more story planned for her and Spock ;)

Lol, you're not a jerk at all, I think I giggled the entire time I wrote the last story because of all the tension ;)

Cora's people are definitely interesting. They're modest about their dress, but they also view emotions and physical things as natural. So she'd be more inclined to blurt that out as just a final part of the mating bond for sure ;)

Nope, Cora and Spock had not had sex until the end of the last story. You're not alone in that, I hated Khan :( They don't say 'I love you' much, mostly because Spock is very logical and not inclined to speak his emotions, but Cora can feel them so she knows he loves her even when he doesn't say it. And Cora knows it makes him uncomfortable sometimes so she projects her love to him :)

I've noticed I tend to repeat a bit too, thank you! It's something I'm trying to work on. I feel like, when it comes to Cora and Spock, the repetition sometimes comes from them trying to understand other things. They only have their own cultures to go on for the most part so they end up thinking back to it or it ends up relating to how/why they don't know something. But I'll keep an eye out for it ;)

Oh I know ;) DW has gotten through series 10 too before I managed to update this. Lol, it feels like how I feel in the Sherlock fandom, everyone gets everything before Sherlock gets a new season lol...which I am also guilty of as pretty much all my other stories are going to be updated before I manage to get to the latest series for Sherlock and Leena lol :)

I'm not sure if I'll do a sort of mini-series of Spock/Cora in those three years. I've been tossing up the idea of doing a spin-off of Kirk/Victoria's time in the original series if she was there and that led to me thinking about the same thing for Spock and Cora, but then I was also thinking of making a sort of spin-off but for ALL the Star Trek OCs in that three-year gap (Kirk's, Spock's, and Bones's) but I felt like that might be confusing to have it in the same 'story.' Lol, I'm just all over the place with ideas :) We'll have to wait and see if any come about though, I've got a lot to catch up on in terms of my stories first ;)

Yup, definitely keeping up with Spock and Kirk's OCs for the Beyond movie ;)

I think what put me off Spock and Uhura in the first movie was we didn't see HOW it happened. As far as I was aware, being in the Academy, Spock was like a teacher and Uhura was still his student since she was really into languages and I could see her keeping on with classes throughout her time there. With Cora, it felt more like she'd take the basics and then it just sort of fell not into a teacher-student relationship, but a Spock-Cora thing, he wasn't her teacher anymore after the first few classes, he just sort of offered to help her if she ever needed it. And that's what I like about fanfiction, it gives you the freedom to look back at key points that build up a relationship to help :)

I do plan to do the Khan/OC still yes. It may not be up till late next year or even early 2020. I have plans to do a Bones/OC first and I'm going to try and space it out a little more before I get to the Khan/OC too ;)

You can call whatever you like :) Though, it IS within Cora's culture to move quickly into a physical relationship, so she could very easily change her mind or have a change of heart regarding being physical with Spock ;) That and it was either do it or he dies which would probably help nudge anyone alone ;) Empathics don't wait long once they find their partner. Cora, in that sense, feels they were not ready for such a step because she won't feel ready or comfortable till Spock is. If she goes down that route of wanting something he's not ready for, he'll be able to read it off her mind and it would make things tense and awkward. It's better, to her, to wait till he's ready to be physical and so she doesn't try to tempt him or show off too much skin that might have made him uncomfortable before the Pon Farr ;)

I've noticed I use ellipses a bit yes. It is intentional. Usually, when I use them, I'm trying to convey that the character is pausing in their thoughts or searching for the right word. So the note you had about not being sure if I'm using the right word is spot on, because that's my intention for the character ;) Especially when it comes to Spock and Cora because Spock is often unsure about his feelings due to his preference for logic and Cora is often uncertain about decorum and what's proper due to her past. Fanfiction is also, to me, informal writing, which gives more freedom for ellipses compared to the more formal/traditional grammatical uses, as informally they can be used for pauses in dialogue, pauses in narrative, and to represent the character or narrator trailing off a phrase or thought, or to represent hesitation. But I'll try to keep an eye on it in the future :)

Yup, the story is up now ;)


	2. Purpose

Purpose

"Spock?"

Spock turned around from where he had been looking out the windows of his room on the Enterprise, the room he and Cora shared. He couldn't help the small smile that grew when he saw her standing there. This was their room, originally his, but had become theirs. There were only a handful of times she hesitated to enter, called out to him to make sure that she was welcome.

From what he understood, the way she felt him, the emotions that rippled off of him were a steady calm to her. When he was in their room or with her, there was an additional contentment, a happiness. It was why she always smiled when she saw him, beyond just her own joy to see him again, there was that swell of happiness HE felt being around her. He always appeared stoic around everyone else and to everyone else, but Cora was the only one on board who could just feel and know he was happy to see her. He never had to be someone he wasn't, he didn't have to compromise himself or his customs she just…understood.

Whenever she didn't feel that calm coming from him, it was when she hesitated, not sure if he welcomed her company or wished for solitude.

"Always, Cora," he spoke to her, reading that question from her mind, through the bond they shared. He always welcomed her company. He always felt calmer around her and it was not a result of her abilities, but just her mere presence. The bond they shared was one sacred to his people, the way they connected important to hers. He never felt more at peace than when he had his mate beside him.

She gave him a small smile and stepped further in, coming to stand beside him by the windows, looking out at the streams of light from the warp around them. They were heading to Yorktown Base to stock up on their provisions once more. They were meant to do so at the halfway point in their mission, around the 912th day but there had been a situation or two that had kept them from making the stop until now, their 966th day. Right now, due to being in warp, the patterns were lovely, the lights rippling past their window like water.

"You wished to talk."

It wasn't a question, Spock knew it wasn't and he was proud of her for it. It had taken her…a very long time, to feel comfortable enough to speak her thoughts as freely as she did now. Among the crew, he saw her engage in conversation, he saw her laugh, he saw her offer her thoughts and opinions without needing someone to notice her tells and inviting her to speak. She had felt comfortable around him quickly enough, they had bonded over being the only ones of their kind in the Academy when they were there, they bonded over being looked at oddly even by other aliens, and they bonded over their differences. She felt safe with him, she spoke freely to him. But even that had taken a long period of time to reach this point.

They had begun a mating, they had completed it, and now they were mates and stronger for it. He certainly felt HE was stronger for it. A part of him, he wasn't sure if it was his Vulcan half or human half, perhaps it was both, sorrowed for others, for his people, that they did not have a mate like Cora.

"You are distracting me," Cora spoke again, not looking at him when he glanced at her, but her lips were quirked.

Clearly she had sensed the turn in his thoughts through his emotions.

"You are distracting," he offered in defense, which sounded more like a compliment than a true defense.

Cora began to look down, a faint blush on her cheeks, when Spock turned and reached out to her. He curled a finger and placed it under her chin to lift it. It was a habit she still maintained from her time on Hestia, taking compliments always made her feel undeserving of them. It was something he still worked on helping her with. He could never bear it when she looked down.

"I…prefer to be distracted by you," he admitted.

Cora reached up, taking the hand from under her chin, understanding that the touch was something of an invitation and acceptance of a touch from her in return, "Distractions are processes by which we avoid thinking or doing something else, something we do not wish to take part in," she tilted her head, "What is it you do not wish to think on?"

"I…do not know," he said in a soft breath, moving to sit back on the side of their bed, allowing her to continue holding his hand as she sat beside him.

"…may I?" she asked, holding her other hand above the one she held with his own.

"Please," he agreed, watching her intently.

He truly did not know what he felt right now, and with how controlled he normally was with his emotions, it was putting him ill at ease. He was not the Empathic, he did not have Cora's aptitude for identifying emotions and understanding them. He knew there was this odd…desire in him, a yearning, but he didn't understand for what. It had started not long ago, perhaps a few months, though it had grown stronger recently, affecting him during times of solitude and meditation especially. He had taken care to review all aspects of his life during those times, trying to identify what he felt but could never seem to understand. He had a position with Starfleet, he had a crew, he had friends, and Cora, he had many things that he had worked hard for. And yet, in some way, it felt like it wasn't enough. There was something... _missing_ , but he could not work out what it was. He had tried to look at it logically, but it kept circling back to the fact that he had all he needed, yet he still felt off balance.

Perhaps it was time to look at things less with his mind and more with his heart, but he was not accustomed to doing so. Luckily, his mate was.

Cora nodded, placing her other hand on top of his, holding it with both her own. She closed her eyes, allowing his emotions to filter through her, trying to put words to what he could not.

"You are…discontent," Cora opened her eyes to look at him.

Spock was silent a long while, processing his thoughts, comparing what she had identified with what he knew, "I am…not discontent," he tried to explain, not sounding like he was fully contradicting her but wanting to add more information and context to it, "I have…gone through all areas of my life and I am quite content. More so, in some regards," he squeezed her hand a moment, letting her know that she was one of the areas he was more than content with. He slowly withdrew his hand from her hold, needing to try and explain, "I am content. I have no areas at present that I should be discontent with and yet…"

"You are," she finished for him, "Emotions are not always logical," she reassured him, "You feel... _ben'estat_ ," Spock couldn't help the quirk of his lip at how she had used a word from her own language to describe what he was feeling, "To feel ready or desiring of something more in your life."

"Yes," he agreed, relieved to have what he was feeling described, "But I do not know what that is," he let out a long breath, "I feel as though...there is another purpose out there for me," he looked at her, "For _us_ ," he added, not wanting her to ever think that any purpose he felt he had would not include her.

Cora began to smile at him, "There might be another purpose," she offered.

"I am open to any suggestions," Spock turned to her intently.

Cora opened her mouth to tell him of what she had discovered in the gardens, when a comm. to the Bridge beeped.

"Commander Spock," Chekov's voice called through it, "Ve are approaching Yorktown Base, sir."

Spock nodded to himself, replying, "Cora and I are on our way."

"Aye, sir."

Spock looked to Cora, "Shall we?"

Cora nodded, the two of them standing and heading for the door, Spock's hand at the small of her back as they made their way out. They should have more time to talk at Yorktown and, perhaps it would be better spoken there, she did not want to accidentally project emotions from that conversation to her crew.

~8~

Cora and Spock slowly stepped into the Bridge of the Enterprise, moving towards the window to view their approach of Yorktown, and could only stare at the sight through the glass. It was…a wonder. A large structure enclosed in a sphere of glass. An entire town, a mass of civilizations, all nestled inside.

"Wow," Chekov breathed, "Zat is impressiwe."

"Aye," Scotty agreed, "She's a beauty, isn't she?"

"What a damn monstrosity!" McCoy muttered, his arms crossed and sounding displeased, "Couldn't we just rent some space on a planet?"

"Showing geographical favoritism among inducted Federation worlds could cause diplomatic tension," Spock reminded them.

"Oh, you don't think _that_ looks tense?" McCoy scoffed, "Looks like a damn snow globe in space just waiting to break!"

"Oh, that's the spirit, Bones," Kirk teased.

"It is beautiful," Cora murmured, smiling at the sight, before looking to Spock as he gave her a small smile back.

~8~

Spock kept his eyes on Cora as they stepped out of the Enterprise after it had docked, wanting to see her reaction to Yorktown Base. From their talks over the years, he knew she had not been to many bases, having gone from Hestia to the Academy to the Enterprise. While she had come to see many planets, bases of such a manner were something new to her, and the awe and amazement in her eyes when they saw something like this was not something he would allow himself to miss.

The wide, beaming smile that grew on her face, the way her eyes crinkled with joy, it was worth it and yet, it was bittersweet at the same time. His eyes flickered down to where she gripped a small necklace she wore around her neck, usually tucked into her uniform during on-world missions. It was a small blue mineral native to Vulcan, something his mother had owned.

His father had offered it to him to give to Cora.

His parents had given him a box to take with him to the Academy and then to the Fleet with small possessions. He had returned it to his father after Vulcan's demise, hoping it might be a comfort to him to have some possessions of the man's mate to hold onto. His mother's necklace had been among them. A few short months ago his father had visited the Enterprise, and he had given him the necklace back along with a few other objects. It had meant _everything_ to him to know his father approved of his relationship with Cora, that he accepted her as his son's mate. Logically though, he had to accept Cora. His father had not had much ground to stand on as his chosen wife had been a human, it wouldn't matter that his son's was an Empathic. But it still, was a meaningful moment to him. He had, of course, presented Cora with the pendant soon after. She had never taken it off.

The honor and wonder in her eyes when he had given her the pendant, the same teal as her eyes, he noticed she would touch it whenever she was happy or amazed at something.

He hoped she would not cease looking at things in that way. During the first few years together he had seen her look at things with no small amount of caution and wariness and distrust. He had seen her look at HIM as though she didn't know why he was being _kind_ to her, as though she never expected that from anyone. This was a look he preferred much more.

He watched as she took a few steps away to look up, trying to see the highest structures in the base.

"You guys alright?" the voice of Dr. McCoy spoke beside him as the man approached with a concerned look on his face.

"I do not understand the need for inquiry," Spock stated with a small frown.

McCoy glanced at him, over to Cora, and back, "You were looking at her, Spock, like that may be the last time you'll see her happy."

Spock blinked at that, unaware he had looked at her in any such manner, "I assure you, doctor, I will endeavor to see her happy always."

McCoy hesitated a moment, "…Pon Farr only happens every seven years, right?"

"To my knowledge," Spock agreed, understanding McCoy's concern now. The last time something had been even slightly off with him and Cora it had been due to his experiencing Pon Farr, "I am not certain if any alterations may come from the cycle due to my human side, however I can confirm I am experiencing no symptoms of it at present."

"Good, good," McCoy nodded, "You alright, Red?" he asked when Cora returned to them.

"I am well, Leonard McCoy," she stated, smiling a little when he rolled his eyes at the use of his full name.

"I really need to bribe Chekov," he muttered as he walked off.

"He still has not told the crew how he asked of you to shorten his name?" Spock wondered out loud.

"I believe he is enjoying their attempts to achieve same," Cora offered.

Chekov was the only one of the crew who had managed to get her to call him a shorter name than his full one. She called him PAC, whereas she called everyone else by their names or position as a sign of respect, as she had been taught to do. All the boy had done was ask her to do so in her native language. It had meant much to her that he had gone through the trouble of learning how to say even that to her, and so she agreed.

Chekov had done one better and asked that she teach him more of her language, as it was a beautiful one. Chekov had come to HIM to learn how to ask Cora the question, but it was clear the boy was a bit more intimidated by him than Cora and so he asked for more lessons from her. They would often converse in it, knowing only Uhura and Spock could understand them, though Uhura only knew the basics of her tongue.

The language of the Empathics was not one often taught in classes at the Academy. There were only three Empathics taken into the Fleet since the USS Kelvin, one had already passed on, and only the highest officials within the Fleet were authorized to even venture to Hestia. The Empathics were taught the common tongue, the Mas'Heirs had their own language though they spoke in the common tongue when the Fleet wished to purchase an Empathic from them. The Empathics were expected to be fluent in the common tongue, the only time they could speak in their own language was in the safety of their homes when the Mas'heirs were unable to hear. The Mas'heirs saw their native language as being as lowly and worthless as the Empathics under their control, they would not lower themselves to learn it and punished the Empathics if they were caught speaking it. It was one of the very few things they had found ways to keep from the time before the Mas'heirs had invaded. They were just words, the Mas'heirs grip on them was too powerful for them to ever consider using their language to plan a revolt or revolution. But they were careful to keep their language hidden.

She honestly doubted Starfleet was even aware that the Empathic language still existed. Spock had looked into it on his own, had begun to teach himself her language when they had first began their lessons so many years ago. She had helped with his pronunciation and other areas, and now he was fluent. She did not know how or why Nyota Uhura had learned anything of her language. It had been many years ago that she had learned the woman knew some of it, at least enough to translate a song or two, and at that point it would have been difficult to call the woman a friend to her.

Spock was of the suspicion that Uhura had tried to learn the language as a topic to discuss with him in the hopes of gaining his attention. If only the woman had known that Cora held his attention from the first moment he had seen her in the halls of the Academy, perhaps she would have ceased in her efforts earlier, perhaps her relationship with Cora would have been one of friendship instead of enmity sooner. He did not hold Uhura's past actions against her now, though. Cora and the woman had grown to friendship. He could tell Cora was surprised Uhura hadn't thought to ask her to stop calling her Nyota Uhura every time in her language yet. But it was amusing to watch the others huff in a good-natured exasperation for it.

Spock nodded, "Shall we?" he gestured to the side, the two of them planning to find a quiet area of the base to finish their talk.

"Excuse me, Commander Spock?" a voice said and they turned to see two elder Vulcans in ceremonial attire approaching, "May we have a moment of your time?"

"Alone?" the second delegate added with a look to Cora.

The girl immediately looked down, bowing her head in acceptance and respect.

Spock felt something twist uncomfortably within him at the display. It had been…so long, since he had seen that move in action in such a way. Cora had come…so far, in her comfort around the crew. She had been so timid, so quiet, so submissive when she first joined the Academy. She still was in larger crowds, in official circumstances. But the years in space, where it was just the crew, he could see a comfort grow in her, she felt safe with them, she felt…equal to them. She smiled, she spoke, she offered ideas, she took initiative with the others. The isolation of space had made her feel secure with the people around her, so much so that it was nearly jarring to see her revert to how she had been by a single word from a Vulcan Elder.

It was as though, with that one word, she was reminded of her 'place' and that these men were not her crew. He would be damned if he let her fall back to that mindset, where she felt lesser than her crew and not a part of them.

Just as Cora moved to step away, he reached out to take her hand. It was for many reasons. Physical contact was treasured by Empathics, but it also gave them a better connection to his emotions and her thoughts, he needed her to feel that she belonged there with him. It was also a show to the Elders that she was not just crew to him, she was his partner in all things, and he would not be parted from her. Let them think less of him, think this was his human side showing, better him than her.

"Cora is my mate," he told them, before looking at her, "Whatever you have to say to me, you may say in front of her."

The two delegates looked at each other, even as Cora's gaze remained on Spock, holding his eyes with her own. They only looked away when the two delegates nodded their reluctant assent.

~8~

Cora stood a step or two behind Spock, to his side, her hands clasped before her, remaining quiet as he finished speaking with the two Vulcan Elders. While she appreciated his efforts to include her, she respected that the two Elders didn't wish her to be there and she did her best to keep silent and out of the way, allowing them their privacy while also not disrespecting Spock's wish for her to remain.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Spock spoke as the two offered him a box, "Live long and prosper," he made the hand gesture of their people to them.

"Live long and prosper," the two Elders returned the gesture before nodding their heads and turning to go.

Cora waited till they had left the room and stepped over to Spock's side, feeling tears in her eyes as she felt the swell of emotion within him. The sorrow, the grief, the guilt, anger, hurt, sadness, desperation, heartache, and so much more. She could feel him spiraling even though he gave no outward indication of his grief.

She reached out and placed a hand on his arm as he held the box, letting a sliver of comfort flow into him. It wasn't meant to change his emotions, it wasn't meant to drown the others he was feeling. It was just her way of telling him, reminding him, that she was there with him should he need her. She was there, he was not alone.

He swallowed hard and moved to set the box down on a small table, picking up a tablet off the top of it and taking her hand, feeling his human side crying out for more contact though he couldn't voice it. He walked towards a large window that revealed the stars outside the base's domed glass and looked down at the screen of the tablet.

It was an image of Spock Prime, Stardate 2230.06-2263.02.

The Ambassador Spock had passed away.

He closed his eyes tightly, letting his one arm drop away, unable to look at the information any longer, only opening them when he felt Cora gently touch his cheek with her other hand. He turned his head, allowing her to guide his gaze, and looked at her. She gave him an empathetic smile, small though it was, her thumb stroking his cheek as a tear fell.

"I do not know what to say," Cora murmured to him, "I am sorry."

Spock shook his head, taking a deep breath and taking comfort in her being with him even as he turned and moved over to sit on a small bench against the windows, "I do not know what to say either."

"Then do not speak," she offered as she came to sit beside him, "Allow yourself to feel your grief. The delegates have gone, it is just me."

Spock nodded, resting back, his head falling against the window as he looked up, the tablet clenched in his hands. Cora remained quiet beside him and while she hadn't filtered more than a sense of comfort to him, she was radiating support and calm and comfort, a constant presence, a rock. And he let himself feel everything.

The words of the delegates echoed in his mind, how the Ambassador, Spock Prime, had passed peacefully in his sleep. How he had seemed to know his time was approaching and had gotten his affairs in order, requesting that the box of his possessions be given to his younger counterpart. How their people on New Vulcan had given him the highest of honors in their rituals for his passing.

And then he couldn't help how his thoughts turned to the fact that…he hadn't been there. He hadn't been part of the funerary rights. His father had been there, his father had had to bury his son, an aged version of his son, but a version nonetheless. Spock Prime, he had been a pillar for his people, a guiding hand, someone they could turn to for reassurance. Everything New Vulcan had become was due to the efforts of Ambassador Spock. And now the man was gone.

What would it mean for his people?

A small part of him considered, briefly, that Spock Prime had been 162 years old when he passed, based on what he knew of his alternate self's year of birth. It was logical then to believe he would live at least that long if all went well.

But that was a fleeting thought and only a small comfort to him at the moment. The needs of the many were more important than the needs of the one. He could not think of himself in this moment, his grief would be profound, he knew, it was not every day one was told they had died. But his people, his people were what he needed to think of.

They had lost one Spock but…but maybe they did not need to.

HE was Spock, he may not be the Ambassador Spock they were used to, but he had the potential to be that man. He had it within him. And he had a responsibility, an obligation, to do what he could for his people. It had been the only way he had been able to come to terms with remaining on the Enterprise after his planet had been destroyed, the fact that his people would still have him, in some form. But now they didn't.

"I believe I may have found another purpose," he said out loud, half-in thought.

Cora looked to him, "You wish to take Ambassador Spock's place on New Vulcan."

It did not take much to reach that conclusion. After so long with Spock, she had learned how to see the 'logic' in things as he would. It was not something she could do automatically, she had her own way of viewing the world around her, however, with effort, she could understand situations from his perspective. New Vulcan had lost a Spock, and HE was a Spock, and they were his people.

It was only logical.

"I believe it may be necessary," he continued, confirming her thoughts, "My people need me."

Cora was silent a very long time after he had spoken, looking down at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Spock did not say another word though, sensing, in his own way, that she was thinking very hard on what he had said and what to say in response.

"If…this is something…you feel you must do," she spoke, in a halting way that had Spock looking over at her sharply, "Then I give my most sincere blessing."

"...why do you sound as though you are letting go of me?" Spock frowned at her.

"Because I must," she closed her eyes, her head bowed, her hands gripped together so tightly they were turning white.

"Cora, you are my _mate_ ," Spock spoke, a genuine confusion in his voice, "I would not leave without you," he automatically moved a hand to try and gently turn her head up once more, but she reached out to take his hand instead, lowering it so she could continue to bow her head.

She was not sure she could get the words out if she looked at him, to remind him of her culture and the situation she was in as an Empathic, "I cannot leave Starfleet. You know this."

It was both true and untrue.

The Fleet purchased Empathics from Hestia and freed them. But they also offered them a place with the Fleet, inviting them to join, an offer for them to help spread peace and assistance to others. They accepted, of course they did, to be freed from the Mas'heirs? It was a debt they could never repay. They joined the Fleet and they stayed with the Fleet. The Mas'heirs had ensured they were always grateful to their masters, and the Fleet, even after freeing them, became something of a new-master to them. Whether they freed them or not, the Mas'heirs made sure they would feel indebted to those who purchased them. The Fleet was aware, there was no way they weren't by now, of how an Empathic would react to freedom, their feeling of owing the Fleet their assistance. They didn't fight too hard to convince Empathics they had other options, to insist they explore, they spent a good deal of resources to purchase them and Empathics, by joining a Fleet, returned that investment and then some. The Fleet was not terrible to be a part of either, they did good work, they helped. There were worse chains to be kept in.

Spock knew that, in a strict sense, Cora _was_ free, she could retire from the Fleet. There was nothing that said the Fleet would not allow an Empathic to leave should they request it, they could not force someone to stay. But Empathics would never be _able_ to bring themselves to do so. It would be like telling a Vulcan to never again use logic or control.

Empathics would live and die as part of a crew.

As much as she loved Spock, as much as she was his mate, as strong as their bond was, it was too deeply ingrained in her to pay her debt to the Fleet.

Perhaps, in years and years, if she grew then as much as she had in the few years they had been out in space, she might feel like she had done enough, served long enough, earned her worth, and leave with Spock. But she could not, not right now.

The crew had a five year mission, she was part of the crew, she could not leave before the end of that. And she knew in her heart she might not even leave after that either.

She felt like two halves of her were at war. As far as she knew, the two Empathics who came before her in the Fleet were not joined to any other crew member. They could remain with their crew to the end of their lives with no conflict.

Right now she felt the duty to her crew, to the Fleet, warring with her duty to her mate, to her heart.

"If you cannot leave your mate, and your mate cannot leave her crew…" Cora shook her head, "The only way is to have no mate."

Spock squeezed her hand more, using his other hand to touch her cheek, making her look at him, "I will _not_ leave you."

"I cannot ask you to choose between your people or me."

Spock swallowed hard and pulled her into his arms as she broke down, overwhelmed, "You do not need to ask. There is no question. I will always choose you."

Cora closed her eyes tightly at the regret in his voice, the feel of it wafting over her. He regretted saying what he had, suggesting he should leave for New Vulcan.

She had felt it in Captain Kirk, a discontent, not the same as what she felt off Spock, but similar, growing in him. She felt a…boredom…in her captain and she feared that he was uninterested in the life aboard the Enterprise, that he would leave them. There were the stirrings of resentment deep within the man, that he felt he could not leave as he was the Captain and meant to stay with his ship.

She did not wish that fate for Spock. If he truly felt he needed to be with his people, she would never wish to hold him back from that. But she knew he would not leave her in such a manner. It only served to make the fear grow worse, that, one day, he may come to resent her as the Captain had started to resent his position.

She feared, one day, Spock would come to regret mating with her if it held him back from this new purpose he felt he had found.

She did not want to lose him, but she did not know what she could do to help. This was not a situation she had ever thought to find herself in.

She did not know what to do.

A/N: Wow, things escalated a little quickly there lol.

To explain why Cora hasn't told Spock what she was trying to tell him earlier at the end here. He JUST found out someone died, that HE died, an alternate him, but still him. So, right off the bat, telling him something else that has already got her concerned might not be the best thing to add to it. She'd want to wait for a better time. It's just sort of poor taste. If someone's died, you really don't want to add to it or give them any other news that can throw their world off its axis any more, you know? And second, near the end, Spock _does_ regret saying he wants to go to Vulcan out loud, we'll see more of his thoughts on this conversation in a few chapters, more of his internal thoughts now that he'd have had time and hindsight to review. He really is making a plan in the heat of the moment and after a big blow, so it's a bit illogical, but as Cora said, emotions are rarely ever logical. He's going to realize that and look back on this and we'll see more about that. Cora is now afraid that she'll be something holding him back from going to Vulcan, because she is now thinking that really is the purpose he wants to have. If she tells him what she's discovered about her abilities changing, it would just be yet another reason to do with her that would 'hold him back' and she'd rather they talk and get a plan in place and BOTH be ok with the plan before adding any new information.

Again, emotions aren't logical and sometimes they overwhelm. Both Cora and Spock are experiencing this now and it may strain them a bit, but as detailed in the story's summary, the time apart after in the next few chapters will really help them re-prioritize and work things out. It would be a little taste, for Spock, of what it means to be separated-separated from Cora and help him realize his plans to go to New Vulcan may not have worked ever.

This was a tricky start to the story for me. I wanted to keep some themes of the movie going, but tweak them to fit Cora and Spock's dynamic. We saw in the movie Spock was feeling a duty to his people, an unrest, and then a thought that he should return to Vulcan to help after Spock Prime died. I tried to keep that paralleled here with a discontent he's feeling, but unsure what it is. This isn't like with Uhura, they aren't just dating and can break up. He's mated to Cora, that's for life and so some of the issues between him and Uhura are sort of null in this. So I really tried to find a way to introduce the idea of Vulcan, with Spock Prime's death, but also show that the confliction and reluctance Spock had about it in the movie are still there. Here it's more a knee-jerk reaction that he hasn't thought through, but made the mistake of saying out loud to his mate and it's upsetting to her.

We'll have to wait and see what the two resolve to do though ;)

Also, about the Fleet and the Empathics. Cora IS free, she's not a slave to the Fleet, however she does FEEL as though she is now something of an indentured servant. That she owes the Fleet a debt, her life, for freeing her and will work and serve them as best she can. She truly feels she can never leave the Fleet because of it. Hestia has become a slave planet, the Fleet cannot interfere for a number of reasons. Non-interference, they are not warring against other Federation planets, they are not affecting massive events elsewhere, the Empathics themselves are not requesting help to be liberated (despite it being a result of being oppressed so long), and they cannot go in and change a culture just because they disagree with it :( What the Fleet CAN do is help in some small way. When they can afford it, they try to free an Empathic. They purchase one, they free them. But let's also keep in mind, they've spent a LOT to do this and if they can maybe make it back over the years, like an investment, then it equals out over time. So they invite the Empathic to join the Fleet, and they do, they always do. No one is forcing them to, but it's in their nature and it's been beaten into them by the Mas'heirs, so they go along with it. The Fleet isn't going to really try all THAT hard to convince the Empathic they have other options or not to join the Fleet, because they are useful and they do help a lot in the long run. We saw with Admiral Marcus, sometimes officials in the Fleet will authorize things they know are wrong, to get what they want. Now I'm not saying everyone in the Fleet is corrupt like that, but the Fleet do sort of want the Empathics to stick around due to their abilities, so maybe they don't quite fight hard to convince them they're really actually fully free. Legally, they free Empathics they buy, they can do whatever they want, but from a cultural, internal, nature sort of way, Empathics themselves will commit themselves to the Fleet on their own and they feel they cannot leave. No matter what others tell them, they just CAN'T go :( So that's sort of why Cora is saying she couldn't go with Spock if he did leave to live on New Vulcan. And, she's right, in years and years, maybe she might, but she can't right now :(

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I can't say, we'll have to wait and see what's up with Cora. It could just be a sort of advancement in her power she wasn't expecting because it's tied to Hestia and living among other Empathics ;)

I've heard of Kes, yup, I actually got a PM about it after I'd posted Cora's first two stories. I haven't seen the episodes though but I ready the summaries :) I can see some similarities ;)

We'll have to wait and see if Cora is or isn't, it can just be a natural expansion of her powers, you never know ;)

I can understand a dislike of pregnancy stories. I'm not saying Cora is or is not, but looking at the timeline of movies, the chances are if she does end up being pregnant at one point or another, we'd only see about 3 or so days of it, the events of the movies tend to happen quite quickly so anything major would probably be off-screen and in the background. If a child does appear in their future, they may be in part of the story as they'd be present, but, again, not saying if Cora is or isn't ;)

Oh Cora, so much is going on with her on a normal day lol, we'll have to wait and see ;)

I've actually had it on my profile and my tumblr's upcoming stories page for a while now that there will definitely be a Bucky/OC ;) I actually plan to get it up the start of 2019 ;)

I'm very excited for who Cora gets separated with, but I won't say who just yet ;) All very good guesses for what's up with Cora and her abilities, we'll have to wait and see ;)

I have it mentioned on my profile that the next Piper story will be up after I finish Calm Before the Storm ;) So probably around...November :)


	3. Foul Intent

Foul Intent

Cora and Spock looked up as the lift doors opened to allow Kirk inside with them. Their time in Yorktown had been cut short very quickly. She had only just managed to calm herself enough to discuss with Spock about how he felt some more when they had gotten a call to return to the Enterprise, Spock being given more details of the mission as they made their way back. Neither of them were pleased to have to postpone their conversation again, but for the crew to be called back so soon, they both knew it was something truly serious.

"Cor," Kirk greeted with a nod, "Mr. Spock."

"Captain Kirk," Cora returned as Spock went with a simpler, "Captain."

"I was thinking..." Kirk started at the same time that Spock continued saying, "Perhaps there..."

"No, please," Kirk nodded, intending for Spock to speak first.

But he disagreed, "Captain, after you. I insist."

"After this mission, we should uh, we should sit down, all of us," he looked to Cora for that as well, "There's something I need to talk to you both about."

Kirk's gaze drifted to Cora a moment, seeing her looking at him with sorrow, understanding, and knowing. It didn't surprise him, he was aware she'd been feeling something off about him for a while given the looks he would catch her giving him every so often. She probably could sense his…not relief, because it wasn't a true relief he felt after the conversation he'd just had, but something close, like a resignation mixed with bits of relief and also a reluctance and desire for change.

"I, as well, have something to share," Spock offered, pulling Kirk's attention to him, "Something I wish to discuss with you."

"As do I," Cora spoke up too, though both men looked to her for her words, Spock seeming a little confused.

"Is it pertaining to the surprise you mentioned?" Spock asked. She had mentioned she was working on presenting him with a surprise earlier, yet she had made no other mention of it when they had had the chance to talk, granted the topic of conversation did not create much room for word of a surprise.

"More or less."

Spock nodded, not about to pry and taking care to keep from letting his thoughts drift to her thoughts. The mental connection he had to her mind made it easier for him to understand things she sometimes could not verbalize, whether due to being overwhelmed by emotion or not knowing the words to put to her thoughts. There were times she felt she could not or should not speak, and in those cases being able to hear what she thought but didn't say was necessary. It was with a great amount of ease that he could reach out to her mind after three years of being mates. Sometimes he found himself privy to her thoughts without realizing he was actively seeking them. She would often warn him if she had something she wished to keep secret for a time, so he would be more aware and cautious of his thoughts. Now was such a time.

Kirk looked at the two of them a moment, a silence falling between the three of them before he spoke once more, "We make a good team. Right?"

"I believe we do," Spock agreed.

Kirk's smile was bittersweet at those words, though the doors opened just then. Spock gestured for Kirk and Cora to go first, but Kirk shook his head, "Ladies and their mates first," he remarked.

"Many thanks, Captain Kirk," Cora offered as she stepped out, followed by Spock.

"Jim, Cora, it's Jim!" he called back to her as he moved past them to enter the Bridge. Cora and Spock following him as he immediately moved to sit on the command chair, calling out, "Lieutenant Uhura, open a ship-wide channel."

"Yes, Captain," the woman replied, opening the comm..

"Attention," Kirk called out, "Crew of the Enterprise. Our mission is straightforward. Rescue a crew stranded on a planet in uncharted space. Our trajectory will take us through an unstable nebula, one which will disable all communications with Starfleet. We're gonna be on our own. The Enterprise has something no other ship in the fleet has: you. And, as we've come to understand, there is no such thing as the unknown, only the temporarily hidden. Kirk out."

"Cora?" Spock questioned when he noticed that Cora hadn't seemed to be paying attention to what the Captain had been saying, but, instead, staring at another alien that was accompanying them on the Bridge.

As the Commander of the Enterprise, he had been informed of the situation, which meant Cora had been made aware as well. The alien was Kalara, a female who had come to Yorktown in an escape pod begging for help to find her crew which had crashed on a planet found within the nebula. As the Enterprise was the most advanced ship in the vicinity, they had been called upon to assist and help rescue the crew. He had explained this to Cora, she knew there would be a non-crew member on the Bridge, yet the woman was frowning and looking at Kalara with no small amount of confusion.

Cora didn't respond to his call verbally. She reached out to place a hand on his forearm as she moved to step past him, heading for the Captain.

He stiffened at the touch, not from the action, but the small burst of emotion she had transferred to him as she went. Caution. It was a warning, to him, to be on guard. And that instantly set him on edge. There was nothing different about the Bridge besides Kalara and Cora had not reacted with any air of caution after learning about the mission on the way there, until she was in the same room as Kalara. And for Cora to be warning him about her, there was a reason for it.

"May I have a moment of your time, Captain Kirk?" Cora spoke quietly as she approached the chair.

"We're about to enter the Nebula, Cor," Kirk murmured, his gaze fixed on the windows as they began to make their way past the floating rocks and gases.

"Jim."

Kirk looked at her instantly for that, serious at the single word, at his name, coming from her lips. He nodded, getting up and calling out to Sulu and Chekov, "Keep her steady, boys."

Cora let out a breath, following him to a room connected to the Bridge, spotting Spock moving over to Kalara, likely to distract her or keep the woman from trying to listen. He was clever like that.

"What is it, Cor?" Kirk asked as soon as the doors shut.

"She is lying," she stated, looking through a small set of windows on the doors to the alien on the Bridge.

"About what?"

Cora turned to him, "Everything," Kirk grew even more serious and tense at that, "I have felt the fear for my crew, she exudes none of that. She exhibits a fear, but not borne of concern but…" she shook her head, trying to phrase it, "A plan falling apart, of…a fear of failure," she glanced at the alien once more and back to him, "She is eager. She wishes us to reach this planet. She is determined as though…" she tried to place the times she had felt the same emotions as Kalara, either herself or from one of the crew, "As though this is a _mission_ for her as well. And...she is...she does not wish to be here, but not…not _here_ as in going to the planet but here as in the Bridge. There is…something she seeks, something she desires to possess. I know not what, but…do not believe _anything_ she says, Captain Kirk. There is a danger."

Kirk nodded, letting out a breath, "I knew we should have called you in."

He had been called by the Fleet official in charge of Yorktown Base, Paris, to help assess the distressed Kalara. A part of him had thought to call Cora, having gotten so used to having her beside him whenever he or one of the crew faced a non-crew member. They had never been surprised by a trap with Cora there. But he had taken a chance this one time, wanting to give her and Spock some time to themselves. Cora and her abilities, they were nonstop. As Bones had once described it to him, she couldn't NOT feel. She couldn't turn it off, she couldn't block it out, if she wasn't actively using her abilities, she was still feeling the emotions of others. Being confined to the ship, it was small compared to this base. He thought it might be a welcome relief, offer her more space.

He'd taken the risk to not call her, Paris hadn't seemed to think an Empathic was required either. There was no reason to think Kalara was lying.

And thus was the reason Empathics were such an asset.

Kalara had fooled him, fooled Paris, had fooled everyone on the Bridge. But not Cora.

"Does she know?" he looked to her, "That you know?"

Cora glanced out quickly, but Kalara seemed focused on watching the nebula, "I sense no suspicion. Captains are spoken to by their crew at all times. She…I do not believe she knows I am an Empathic."

"If she even knows what those are," Kirk muttered. Hell, HE hadn't known what an Empathic was till he'd been put on trial for sabotaging the Kobayashi Maru simulation and faced her himself. Empathics had only recently been reintroduced in the Fleet, just after the Kelvin. And Kalara bore no Starfleet Insignia, she wasn't part of a crew recognized by the Fleet. There was a chance the woman had no idea of Cora's abilities.

Kirk let out a long breath, "This is a trap."

"That would be the logical conclusion."

"Don't channel Spock right now," he remarked, though there was no bite or command in it. He ran a hand through his hair, "If we go out there and turn back, she'll know we know. And if she's gone through this much trouble to get us moving, there's no way in hell she doesn't have some sort of plan to keep us going."

"I can compel her to sleep," she offered.

Kirk looked out the window at Kalara, at the nebula, and shook his head.

Cora frowned at that, "We are…continuing with the mission?"

He tried to muster a smile, "The first step in avoiding a trap is knowing it exists."

Cora just seemed more confused, "But if you know it is a trap, why go into it?"

"Because if we turn back, they'll try again. Kalara can't be the only one. And the next crew they try it on may not have our resources," even though he put a hand on the wall, implying the ship, he looked to her, meaning her as well, "And they may get hurt. We go into this, knowing something's wrong, maybe we can avoid it. Maybe we can stop whoever Kalara's working with to keep them from trying this with anyone else. You disagree?" he added when she was silent.

"As always, I defer to your judgement, Captain Kirk."

Kirk let out a long breath, "I hope I'm making the right one."

"As the humans say, only time will tell."

Kirk gave her a nod, "This stays between us until you can find a time to warn Spock."

"I already have."

Kirk nodded again, opening the door, though Cora was sure she heard him mutter, "Thank god the Pon Farr's four years away."

Cora couldn't help the small smile at the mention of Pon Farr, when she and Spock had finally completed their mating. It had been…concerning when it had been happening, to not truly understand what had Spock so out of sorts. But when she looked back on it now, it was amusing to her. Spock's emotions had begun to overrule his logic then, and above all was his desire to protect her. He would not have fought against the Pon Farr had it not been for his care for her. He had gotten quite growly and possessive when others were around her, quite protective. If they were heading into a trap while he was in Pon Farr, this would not end well for their enemies.

Not that it would end well now. Cora was certain of it, no matter what was about to occur, her crew could face anything and stop the threat to the universe.

"Mr. Chekov," Kirk called out as they resumed their positions on the Bridge, "Status report."

"Readings indicate cloud density diminishing, sir," Chekov replied as they began to come to the end of the nebula, they could even make out a somewhat Earth-like planet ahead.

"This is Altamid," Kalara's translator spoke for her, a feminized computer voice from a device attached to her shirt as she did not speak the common tongue, "My ship is stranded here."

Spock looked over at Kirk, noting the smallest of details that indicated Cora's warning had gotten through to him as well. He tensed more than appeared relieved. He shook his head, focusing on his duty, "Approaching Altamid," he stated, bringing up the information on a scanner near him, "Class-M planet. Massive subterranean development. But limited to no life forms on the surface."

"Proximity alert, sir!" Chekov shouted suddenly, "We hawe an unknown ship heading right for us."

"Lieutenant Uhura, hail them," Kirk commanded, "Cora, get ready."

"Yes, Captain Kirk," Cora replied at the same time that Uhura said, "Yes, Captain."

Uhura was quick to do as requested, "No response. I am picking up some kind of signal…they're jamming us!"

"Magnify, Mr. Sulu," Kirk looked to the screen as the image magnified to reveal it was not just a single ship approaching, but _thousands_ of small ones. He fully intended to act as though he hadn't expected some sort of trap, but even so, seeing something like _that_ would be more than enough to prompt any captain to turn and demand, "What is this?" of Kalara, before shouting to the crew, "Shields up! Red alert! Fire at will!"

Alarms began to blare throughout the ship as the Enterprise fired at the swarm of ships, but they were easily able to evade the blasts.

"Sir, our phasers are hawing minimal effect and our torpedos can't track their mowements!" Chekov warned.

"Fire everything we've got!"

"Captain," Spock called out, "We are not equipped for this manner of engagement!"

"I do not think that will matter!" Cora shouted, pointing at the screens where they could see the swarm was aiming directly for their weapons array, half diverging to try and take out the lower dish of the ship where the shields originated.

"Shield frequencies hawe no effect, sir!" Chekov confirmed.

"They took out the dish!" Sulu added, "Shields are inoperable!"

"Warp us out of here, Mr. Sulu!" Kirk commanded, starting to realize he had either overestimated the ship or underestimated Kalara and whoever she worked with. They should have turned back. He should have let Cora knock Kalara out, moved her to holding, taken her back to Yorktown for interrogation.

"Yes, sir," Sulu moved to do it, but it was as though the swarm knew their next course of action and moved for the warp drives next.

"Why the hell aren't we moving?" Kirk demanded.

"I can't engage the warp drive, sir!"

"Scotty!" Kirk moved to the comm., "I need warp now!"

"I cannae sir!" Scotty replied, "The nacelles, they've..." the crew on the Bridge could only stare in horror at witnessing his next words with their own eyes, "They've gone!"

And indeed they had, the swarm had targeted the nacelles, and now they were disconnected from the ship and floating in space before them.

"Security, engage all emergency procedures!" Kirk called throughout the ship, "Active protocol 28, Code 1 Alpha 0. All personnel to alert stations."

Cora looked over her shoulder as Spock and McCoy moved into the turbolift to go down to the main levels as was part of the protocol. The med-bay would need to be prepped, the chief medical officer on the alert for injuries, while the First Officer confirmed the ship was secure from within. She caught Spock's eye as he turned in the lift, a phaser at the ready, and he gave her a nod of reassurance before he was gone.

She closed her eyes for a moment, the protocol required her to be on the Bridge, to maintain the calm, so that was what she focused on, breathing calm into the room, though she made sure to move herself in front of Kalara so the woman wouldn't be affected. The longer the alien was unaware she was an Empathic and what she could do, the better for the crew.

"Sir!" Chekov shouted, though he sounded more focused than frantic when the ship shook, something striking below them, "I hawe hull breaches in lewels 12-15, 6, 9, 31 and 21, sir."

"Captain!" Scotty called over the comm., "There's a chance I can reroute the energy reserves from the warp core to the impulse engines."

"If we can get back into the nebula, maybe we could lose them," Kirk agreed, "Do whatever you have to, Scotty."

Cora gasped, sensing a presence throughout the ship that was slowly warring with the feelings of her crew as they were injured by the latest attacks shaking the ship. The new presence was one that was not what she recognized of the crew. New emotions introduced that should not have been there, more present than there normally was, "We are being boarded!" she called out in warning, thankfully being near enough a monitor that she could make it appear to Kalara she was merely reading it off a screen.

Alarms began to go off as reports came over the comms. from the crew, calling out how there were hostiles inside the spikes that had slammed into the ship, they were invading, their weapons were doing little.

"…Spock," Cora breathed to herself, feeling a spike of alarm shoot through her that was not her own emotion nor those on the Bridge, she was still managing to exude calm through the room, so this alarm was somewhere else, someone else.

Only a moment later, Spock's voice came over the comm., "Captain!"

"Go, Spock!" Kirk called.

It was clear from the noise coming over with his words that Spock was running through the ship and being fired at while he did so, "I have identified the individual who appears to be leading the attack party. He infiltrated the archive vault and removed the artifact from our mission on Teenax."

"Hold your distance until..." Kirk began, when the comm. started to fail, static overcoming it, "Spock! Spock!" he spun around, pointing to two nearby crew members, "You two with me. Sulu, you have the comm.. Cora, maintain the Bridge!"

Cora looked over at his words, knowing he had not included maintain 'the calm' due to Kalara, but she understood his order nonetheless, "Yes, Captain Kirk."

"Yes, sir," Sulu called as he moved to the captain's chair while Kirk ran out with the two other crew.

Cora closed her eyes for a moment, her hands curling into fists as she tried to focus on the Bridge. This was exactly what Spock had feared would happen and what he had been working with her to push past. That she would be needed to do something, but the situation around her made it difficult to do so. This was not the same level as when Vulcan had been destroyed, but she could feel her crew, some of them dying, around her, she could feel their pain, she could feel their emotions being cut off so suddenly with their demise. And yet she needed to maintain the calm in the Bridge.

She wished Spock was still there, even in such tense conditions he was always a source of calm, an anchor she could use to stabilize herself. But he wasn't, he was down below, running down the halls to escape the enemy.

She could almost hear him in her mind as she thought on him, trying to use the memory of him to stir up the same meditative properties she worked so hard on before. She was trying to block out the death and pain she felt around her and focus on something that could help the rest of the crew. It was not made easier by her fear and concern for Spock.

She could almost picture him in the halls, rushing back to Leonard McCoy as he tried to help the crew, shouting out to him to run.

She forced her eyes open, looking at the Bridge, they all appeared relatively calm despite her struggles, all of them were professionals, trained to remain calm when they faced their enemies. She was meant to be an added precaution. But with the sense of others invading her ship, attacking her crew, she couldn't help but feel like her abilities would be better spent dealing with the invaders.

She glanced over at the door to the turbolift, sensing a small shift in the invaders, in the emotions she felt off them. She could feel small ones, like pinpricks in a black surface, going away, abruptly cutting off. It had to mean the crew were fighting back.

She looked down, hearing a growl over the comm. that had been left open when Kirk rushed out, "Captain…Kirk…" a voice was growling, clearly not one of the crew.

She had nearly called out to Sulu for permission to assist the captain when the ship suddenly tilted on its side. It was clear Montgomery Scott had been able to reroute the power to the impulse engines. But, instead, she gasped a moment later when the ship shook as the swarm of ships struck it again, feeling as though she couldn't breathe, feeling a chill seep through her. She knew what happened, even before they started to see the bodies of crew members floating in space, having been sucked out by the vacuum of the strikes.

And then they saw the inertial dampeners had broken off entirely.

"Kirk to Bridge!" Kirk shouted through the comms..

"We are losing ze inertial dampeners!" Chekov reported.

"Systems are failing ship-wide, Captain," Sulu added, "Emergency bulkheads are sealing but structural integrity is at 18 percent and falling, sir!"

"The crew are dying," Cora spoke, though her voice was softer, shaking with the effort to keep the deaths from affecting her focus.

"…abandon ship, Mr. Sulu," Kirk gave the command.

"Sound the alarm!" Sulu ordered.

Cora was out of the Bridge the moment the order was given. It was a technicality, that her order had been to maintain the Bridge yet now the order was to abandon ship. It meant she could leave the Bridge with the change of order, and she felt like she _had_ to get to the other levels. When she had heard that voice on the comm., realized the enemy had gotten hold of Captain Kirk, she had wanted to help. She could sense a distress off the Captain, a pain.

She could sense her crew. But there were different levels to it. She felt Spock more than anyone else, he was her mate. She could sense he was safe at the moment, relatively speaking. She could sense more of those she was close to, like Kirk, Uhura, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, and McCoy. Not specifics, but she was more aware of them, more able to determine them in the flow of emotions in the ship. In a general sense, she could sense the rest of the crew. But when one of them was suddenly cut off or experienced a sudden pain, she could usually catch it depending how close she was. When it happened en masse, such as an attack where a number were injured or killed at once, she felt it.

Right now she could tell her Captain was in pain and needed assistance. She could tell where a few remaining injured were in need of a boost to get to their pods and eject.

"Abandon ship," a computerized voice called over the speakers, "All personnel."

Cora let out a breath when she turned a corner, able to hear Kirk speaking softly, still a distance away from her but she was heading in the right direction, "We need to give those pods a chance to escape. Can you lead those ships away?"

"Impulse engines are still trying to draw power from the warp reserve," Sulu was saying over a comm., "We cannot move until the saucer is separated."

"I'll handle it."

"Aye-aye, sir."

She gasped when a crew member stumbled in front of her, falling from another hallway and rolling down it. She hurried towards him with two other crew members rushing to help.

"Abandon ship," the speakers continued to blare, "All personnel evacuate immediately."

"You are alright," Cora knelt down to help the fallen man up, Syl, an alien crew member with cranial appendages like very spiked fingers on the back of her head, hurried to assist her.

"Oh my God," Syl murmured, "Get him up. Help him up. Got you…"

"Cora!" Kirk shouted, spotting her by her bright red hair as he rushed over, "What are you do…" he shook his head, priorities, "Never mind. We've got to get you guys to an escape pod. Go," he urged the male crew member off with the injured one, "Go! Ensign Syl," he reached out a moment later to stop her, "I need your help."

"Yes, sir," Syl nodded.

Cora could only look at the Captain in confusion as she felt the desperate hope and reluctance inside him when he reached into a pocket of his uniform…

~8~

Kirk gasped as Cora pulled him back moments before he could round a corner where she sensed two of the invaders lurking, "Two."

He nodded, readying his phaser and spinning around, aimed, and took the two out before they could turn. He let out a breath, looking at her, "Spock is going to kill me," he told her.

"Spock would not commit murder unless…"

"Yeah, yeah, Pon Farr," he muttered, "Regardless, I'm not risking another punch to the face from him. You get back to the Bridge, leave this to me."

"Captain Kirk…"

"Go, Cora," he turned to her, "Don't make me order you."

Cora was reluctant, "I can assist…there are more…"

"I know," he cut in gently, "I know you can, and I know there are more of these hostiles onboard. But they work for someone. And if we use you now, we can lose an advantage later. The ship's already torn to hell, the crew is escaping. You need to escape too. You need to get yourself away from this."

He said the last part so meaningfully, that Cora knew he'd noticed. She was barely holding on as it was, she was feeling the death of her crew around her, she was feeling their fear, there was no point to use her abilities on those who remained when they would be away from the ship soon enough and out of her range. But she was struggling to maintain herself with the chaos around her. Being away from the concentrated area of the Bridge was not helping. Sooner or later the impact of all of this, the stress of the crew around her, would send her crashing.

He was hoping if she got away now, it would not be as bad.

"Go, Cora," he told her, before he turned to head towards the mechanics that would allow him to disengage the saucer from the ship.

Cora stood there a moment longer, watching him go around a corner and down a hall. She moved back shortly after, ducking around the corner she was standing by when she saw one of the intruders rush after Kirk. She took a step forward, wanting to help, but she looked over her shoulder. She could sense the rest of the crew ejecting themselves, the emotion around her slowly moving away from her. But there were still a few she could feel struggling in the halls.

She had to trust her captain, trust her crew, so she turned to go help those fallen behind on her way to the Bridge.

~8~

Cora made it back onto the Bridge just as the ship jolted, nearly sending her falling into the edge of the doorway.

"Impulse engines drawing power from auxiliary generators!" Chekov was shouting.

Cora let out a breath of relief to hear that, to know that it meant Kirk had succeeded, the ship was turning and heading for the nebula, drawing out the swarm. She opened her eyes to watch, making sure that the other non-essential crew were getting to their escape pods until it was just her, Chekov, Sulu, and Kalara left on the main Bridge. She gasped softly, spinning around when she felt two hostiles approaching, about to attack. She threw up her hands, ready this time, and forcing waves of exhaustion out of her and into them. They fell to the ground to reveal Kirk behind them, his phaser ready to fire.

He gave her a quick wink and rushed into the Bridge, a hand on her arm to pull her after him, tightening his grip when he felt her trembling and tense in his hold.

"How many of the crew are still aboard the saucer?" he demanded, rushing over to Sulu as Cora began to urge Chekov up.

"None," Sulu reported, "But if I'm reading this correctly the intruders are taking them."

"Captain, we are caught in ze planet's grawity," Chekov told him.

"We cannot pull away?" Cora looked at them in alarm.

"No," Chekov agreed.

Kirk looked out the large window, watching as the planet grew large as they drew nearer to it, all the efforts of engineering for nothing as they would never reach the nebula now, "Get to your Kelvin Pods."

"Yes, sir," Sulu moved to the pods, making sure the last few other crew members were getting in first.

"Aye, Captain," Chekov turned to Kalara to urge her on, "Come on, let's go!"

"You too, Cora," Kirk added, glancing back at her.

"I will not go until you are," she stated, trying to lift her chin instead of bow her head when he looked at her, "I…I will…" she struggled to find something to say to her Captain, "I will…make you sleep if you refuse."

"I thought I said not to channel Spock," he muttered, but didn't force her away, knowing she might actually go through with it.

And so he stood there, waiting till the rest of the crew were ejected, watching as the ship grew nearer to the planet, solemn…until he looked down to see Cora had taken his hand in comfort, not exuding comfort to him, but meant to just…comfort.

He couldn't muster a smile though, the two of them waiting till the ship read no other crew aboard, before they headed to their pods, just as Sulu, Kalara, and then Chekov took off.

"You first," he moved her to a pod, "No arguing."

Cora opened her mouth to do just that when the pod closed around her and she was sent hurtling not into space but already within the planet's atmosphere. She looked down, seeing another pod eject right after her, knowing it was the Captain.

She looked up, tears in her eyes as she watched the ship she had come to consider a home crash into rocks and skid into a field, destroyed.

A/N: Poor Cora and Spock, they just have no luck NOT being interrupted when they want to talk :/

It was tricky, trying to write the attack on the Enterprise with Cora there. Because, on the one hand, she would know instantly Kalara was dangerous and Kirk would realize it was a trap. But on the other hand, the movie was centered around the crew being taken and separated and the ship destroyed. So how does that work? WHY would they still go into it?

I feel like some of Kirk's feelings came not just from the routine of it all, but being so comfortable and used to everything, to not really having much to challenge him over the near-3 years in space. The Enterprise is the best ship, the crew has survived traps before, they've come out on top each time, no one's been able to take them on previously. So it's sort of that overconfidence and 'well this is just standard' mentality that I could see, in some ways, leading him to attempt to face the trap when he's made aware of it. Because he has no reason to believe Kalara's ship was attacked or taken down by something, he has no reason to think some planet no one can get to would have any sort of advanced technology to damage the Enterprise, and he think if he knows it's a trap he'll be ready for anything. But he wasn't :( He's also trying to help other people in the sense that another ship isn't as advanced as the Enterprise, they won't have an Empathic around to warn them. THEY should go in and neutralize this threat so no other ships get lured in and can't make it. Hindsight is 20-20 :(

As for Cora, she has spent three years working with Spock to try and 'filter' the emotions around her, to block out the crippling ones so she can try to help a situation or get away to a safe space. It seems to have worked for the moment, but Empathics really can't NOT feel so...I wonder what that means for Cora later? }:)

One last little note, there were a couple lines here inspired by Frank Herbert's 'Dune' book/1984 movie, virtual cookies to those who spot it! ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Spock definitely had a momentary lapse there in the last chapter lol :) I think the time apart will help sort of ram home that idea along with a few other revelations for him as well ;)

Very similar to Boromir and Menna yes :) There's an additional emotion behind Cora's feeling of being indebted to the Fleet, which we'll see more when she eventually encounters Jaylah ;) I agree, Kirk would probably be thrilled if he could go around the universe and sort of just be himself without all the rules and regulations of the Fleet imposed on him. I feel like a part of his discontent is he's sort of stuck. Now that he's been given this 5 year mission, which is a big deal, he's sort of like 'ok, I NEED to follow the rules if I want to keep this mission' but in doing so he's sort of lost himself and his spunk :(

I think Spock Prime would want him to stay too, and I can say we may actually see something of that near the end of the story ;) All very good points, some of which Spock hasn't considered yet, but he definitely will before the end ;) Oh the necklace :D He certainly will have that line, it was one of my favorites ;)

I can say we'll definitely know by the end of this story if Cora is or is not and what's up with her abilities ;) For Spock, I can see him as being a fertile hybrid. I think there was an episode of the original series, I think the one where Pon Farr was introduced, where we find out that Spock did have a designated mate chosen for him on Vulcan. I can't see his people agreeing to that if there was no chance little Vulcans (to work on minimizing the human genes by making a 3/4 Vulcan) would come from it ;)

We've definitely been waiting a very long time for this story, I agree. I went back to answer questions from the end of the last story and was like '...2013! It's been 5 years?!' O.O


	4. Connections

Connections

"Cora?" Kirk called as he moved through the foliage of Altamid, his pod having crashed and released him only moments ago. He had hit a tree at some point, got turned around, but he could see a pod just behind him, two more in the distance and he could guess they were Cora, Chekov, and Kalara as they were the last to get off the ship. As soon as his pod opened, he'd gathered the provisions that came with each pod, a phaser, a jacket, and a comm. and began to run back the way he'd seen Cora's pod go down, planning to get to her then the other two pods as hers was closer, "Cora!"

He looked around, he should have heard a response by now, so he kept running in the direction he swore he saw her pod last.

It must have been five minutes of running through the trees before he heard something, muffled yet clearly a scream. He turned, racing for it, and finding Cora's pod tilted slightly but resting against a tree at an angle. She was banging on the pod's door, but it wasn't opening. He moved over, grabbing the closest, heaviest thing he could, a rock, and smashed it on the side of the pod's door, hitting it twice more before he was able to trigger the mechanism and open it.

He dropped the rock, trying to help catch Cora as she nearly fell out of it and only managed to help keep her from hitting the ground as she landed on her knees. She was shaking in his arms, panting and sobbing.

"Cora, Cora, breathe," he tried to urge her, moving to sit her down. He reached out to touch the sides of her head as he had often seen Spock do when he was checking on the girl, "Breathe…"

Cora didn't seem to hear him, her eyes closed, though she clutched at his arm with her right hand, "They are dead…the attack, they couldn't escape," she managed to whimper out, "I…I felt them…"

Kirk moved to his knees beside her, reaching out to wrap his arms around her, hoping it would help center her. It wasn't going to be as effective as if Spock were doing it, but he hoped their friendship would be enough, "Just focus, Cora. Push past it, I'm here, whatever you need."

Cora leaned on him slightly as she sobbed, trying to still her shaking, but she just couldn't. She had managed to hold it off while on the ship, when the spikes had struck and breached their walls, when her crew had been snuffed out before the others could escape, she had held it together. But she knew this was coming. Empathics couldn't NOT feel. Even if they tried to block an emotion or push it to the side, it would only serve to hit them worse later. It had been Spock's logic that, in the moment was the time she could not afford to be taken down by the pain around her, but when it was over…she would be in a safer space and position to allow the feelings to hit her.

Right now she was having a hard time seeing that.

Because in all of Spock's logical assumptions about the aftermath, he always pictured himself there with her, to help stabilize her and help reassure her.

She gasped suddenly, her free hand that wasn't clutching Kirk's pressing into her side, "Spock..."

~8~

Off in a canyon-like area of the planet, an enemy ship had crashed, but the man crawling out of it wasn't alien nor an enemy, but Leonard McCoy, who looked completely stunned that they had even survived the landing let alone done so in one piece.

"I can't believe it," the man breathed, looking around, only to spin around when he heard a groan of pain. His eyes widened when he saw Spock struggling to get out of the craft as he had a piece of metal impaled on his right side, "My God, Spock!" he rushed over to help the Vulcan out, "God..." he managed to get Spock's arm around him, helping him over to rest against the side of the ship, "Sit down over here. Ok. Ok, sit. Easy. Ok. Now just try and relax. You're gonna be ok."

Spock panted with the effort of trying to not-feel the pain radiating from his side, "The forced optimism in your voice suggests that you are trying to elicit a sense of calm in order to..."

"I'll cut the horseshit," McCoy cut in.

"Doctor, I fail to see how excrement of any kind bears relevance on our current situation," Spock took a breath and tried to push himself off the ship, groaning in pain.

"Whoa, whoa," McCoy rushed over to try and set him back down, "What the hell are you doing?"

"We must keep moving, Doctor."

"Spock…"

"My mate is out there," Spock panted, resting in his effort a moment as the world began to swim around him, "I will not allow her to be taken too."

"This thing's punctured your iliac region!" McCoy half-shoved him back down. The location of the wound was twice as concerning as the fact he was wounded, one wrong move and Spock could die in front of him and that would be of no help to Cora either.

"Time is a critical factor…"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you!" he huffed, but slowly stepped away, seeing Spock didn't appear to be trying to get up again, "Look, if I can't take this out, you're gonna die. Ok? But if I take it out, and can't stop the bleeding, you're gonna die."

"I can see no appeal in either option."

"Neither can I," he grumbled, "I don't want you to die any more than I want any of the crew to die. But you die, Spock, and Cora might too. I'm not losing anyone else, I'm not losing two more people, you understand me?"

It seemed, at the mention and reminder of how his death could impact Cora, Spock settled still against the side of the ship, "I understand, Doctor."

"Good," McCoy huffed, turning to root around the enemy ship, looking for anything that might help, that he could salvage for this situation, "So, if I remember correctly, the Vulcans have their hearts where humans have their livers."

"That is correct, Doctor."

"That explains a thing or two," he yanked hard, managing to dislodge something from the ship and looked around for something else, "You know, you're lucky. An inch to the left...and you'd be dead already. I just don't get it, Spock," he muttered, crouching down and hitting a rock on the side of an enemy gun, "I mean, what did they attack us for? I mean, they do all this for some doodad that the tiny critters didn't want?"

"It is unwise to trivialize that which one simply does not understand, Doctor," Spock murmured, his eyes closed as he tried to meditate, "We can safely assume it is more important than a doodad."

"I think you just managed to insult me twice, Spock," McCoy carefully aimed the gun and fired at the end of a sharp piece of metal, heating it up until it was red, "Ok," he nodded to himself, getting up and heading over to Spock, "Alright, Spock, I just got one question. What's your favorite color?"

"Teal."

McCoy blinked a moment, his other hand gripping the end of Spock's shirt around the edge of the metal shard, honestly surprised he had answered so quickly and surely, he'd expected some long drawn out comment about what that had to do with anything, "Teal?"

"It is the color of Cora's eyes," Spock remarked, "Though I fail to see the relevance…"

McCoy nodded, hearing the tangent starting, and quickly ripped Spock's shirt up, yanking the metal out at the same time, and pressing the heated blade to the wound.

Spock screamed out in pain…

~8~

Kirk grimaced, pulling Cora to him tighter when she suddenly let out a gut-wrenching scream of pain...

Cora's entire body tensed as a burning sensation shot through her from her side, she couldn't hear Kirk beside her, she couldn't feel anything but the pain, though her vision was starting to speckle white. She sucked in a gasp of air, hoping it would clear her vision, but it kept growing lighter and lighter…

Yet, through it, through the white haze, it was almost as though she could see a blur of blue and black within it…

~8~

"Yeah," McCoy grimaced at the sight of the shocks running through Spock from the cauterization, "They say it hurts less if it's a surprise."

Spock panted, blinking rapidly, trying to remove the black spots swimming in his vision, "If I may adopt a parlance with which you are familiar? I can confirm your theory to be horseshit."

He let his head plop back on the ship, the world swimming more than ever around him. He closed his eyes a moment, just…needing to focus, needing to push past the pain, when he felt a warmth on his hand. His head lulled to the side as he blearily blinked his eyes open but it was darker now, the black spots merging though there was a spot of blue and red getting bigger through the darkness.

"…Cora?" he murmured, frowning at he left side.

"Spock?" McCoy called, hearing him speak.

But Spock stared, he swore he could see Cora standing there, right next to him, reaching out and touching his hand…

~8~

Cora squeezed her eyes tight, feeling a numbness spread through her and reached to the place inside her mind and heart where she kept her thoughts of Spock, the calm she always felt from him, the peace. She focused on that, on him, on memories of him.

She could almost see him in the white of her mind. He was hurt, she knew that much, something had injured him in his side and then hurt him even more. He was panting, in her minds eye, he was laying against something she couldn't see, in pain. She couldn't bear it. She reached for him, for his left hand, and took it in her own, squeezing it...

Kirk frowned, watching as Cora slowly began to close her left hand, clenching it as though holding something he couldn't see…

~8~

Spock let out a breath, staring as Cora became clearer the longer he looked. She was crying, her cheeks trailing with tears, her teal eyes shining more through the red around it, and she was shaking. But as her hand touched his, as he squeezed his own around her grip, he felt a peace enter him, a calm, a comfort, and a strength. He could feel the pain in his side diminishing, receding as though the burning was being soothed, the fire in him extinguishing.

He felt his lips quirk up as he smiled at the image of her in his mind…

~8~

Cora inhaled deeply, Kirk watching closely as she seemed to calm, to find her way through the pain and torment she was feeling, breathing a little easier, though her eyes were still firmly shut…

Cora let out the breath, clenching her left hand more, feeling the pain that was radiating in her only moments ago starting to fade as she poured comfort and ease into the Spock in her mind, wanting to soothe him. As he began to feel the pain lessen, it was as though she could feel her own strength returning to her as well.

She began to smile when his lips quirked at her, feeling his relief at her being alright, his determination, his happiness to see her…

~8~

"Spock!" McCoy shouted a moment before a sting went through Spock's cheek, causing the man to snap his attention away from his left side and back to the doctor before him, a deep frown on his face even as McCoy shook out his hand from the stinging pain that went through him at smacking a Vulcan in the face. They were firm bastards.

"Doctor?" Spock asked.

He glanced back to his left where he _knew_ he'd seen Cora just there but the woman was gone…though he still felt the effects of her within him, the pain in his side nothing more than a dull throb, feeling stronger than he had moments ago. He must have imagined it. It would be illogical to think Cora had actually been there with him when he and McCoy had been the only ones in the crashed ship. It had to be the pain, that was the only logical explanation, he had been in pain and imagined something comforting to cope with it.

"We got to get out of here," McCoy told him, glancing up where he'd seen a few ships flying above them as he'd been trying to get Spock's attention, fearing the man was going into shock or falling delirious from the pain, "Come on," he stepped closer, about to help Spock put his arm around his shoulders for support, but Spock surprised him.

The Vulcan merely pushed, albeit carefully, off the enemy ship and started to walk on his own.

"Damn pointy-eared hobgoblins," he muttered under his breath as he went to follow.

~8~

Cora shifted slightly, still panting, but not as harshly as before. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, her gaze instantly drawn to her left hand, clenched tightly. She stared at it as she opened it, bringing her hand closer to her face and looking at her palm. Her hand felt warm, not in a sense of how she'd had it clenched but a warmth that could only come from holding another's hand. She frowned slightly, feeling the pain she'd felt from the deaths of the crew that she'd been holding back and the stinging that had radiated from her side, dissipating. She turned her hand over a moment, but saw nothing but her hand.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder, almost having forgotten Captain Kirk had found her. She was vaguely aware of him trying to help her before, trying to comfort her, but the deaths had needed to work their way through her and then that sharp pain had come out of nowhere and overwhelmed her. The only good she could see from it was that it had distracted her enough for the deaths of the crew to fade while her body had been reacting to the pain in her side.

She looked to the side to seek Kirk crouched beside her, a hand on her shoulder, looking at her intently.

"Captain Kirk."

He let out a breath, hearing her talk, seeing the clarity in her eyes once more, "You stable?" he asked. It wouldn't help to ask if she was alright, she clearly hadn't been and wouldn't be for a while. It would take time for the tremors and the aftermath of what happened to full settle inside her, but for now he needed to know she was alright to move and stand, they couldn't risk being in one place too long.

"I am," she confirmed, reaching out her shaking hand to try and touch his hand on her shoulder.

"Oh no," he shook his head, "No wasting your strength on me. I'm fine. Pissed, but fine. Focus on stabilizing yourself, Cor."

"Yes, Captain Kirk."

He let out another breath, shorter, more bitter, "I don't have a ship, Cor, I'm not a captain right now."

"Yes, James T. Kirk," she amended, knowing that to call him Captain would only be a reminder of what they had lost, of the error in his judgement to think they could take on whatever Kalara had planned without knowing what exactly that was. She very much doubted the others would cease to call him 'captain,' but she could feel how genuinely it had pained him when she had and so she would refrain for the moment, until the crew had been rescued. His full name was still respectful enough.

"Can you sense anyone?" he asked her.

Cora took a deep breath, reaching out to press a hand to the tree behind her for help standing, Kirk helping her along the way with a firm hand on her elbow. She rested back against it and closed her eyes, reaching out to feel for any of her crew. She could feel Spock, she always could, he was her mate, but the others were trickier. Spock was farther away from them, but she could feel two more lifeforms close to them and from the fear and concern, and the cautious glee, she felt from them, along with the order the pods had launched, she could guess exactly who they were.

"Yes," she opened her eyes to look at him, "I feel Kalara and PAC. They are closest."

"Chekov, good," Kirk murmured, "It's a start," he looked around, "Can you lead me to Chekov first?"

"You do not wish to apprehend Kalara?"

"I'm not about to let her get to any more of my crew," Kirk gave her a grim smirk, "But she's not the only one who can lay a trap."

~8~

Not for the first time did Kirk thank god that Cora had landed relatively close to his pod. If he had to track down Chekov and Kalara on his own, he was sure he'd be even angrier with the situation than he already was. Cora had cut down the search time inordinately, and even with her small breakdown and getting to Chekov first, they still managed to reach Kalara just as the woman was getting out of her pod, which appeared to have been as stuck as Cora's had been. But he was not about to help the alien that had cost him his crew and ship.

"You knew," he stepped in front of Cora, his phaser out and aimed at Kalara, a second phaser hidden in the back of his belt, covered by his jacket. Cora would not touch a weapon and had given him hers from the provisions in her pod, "You knew we'd be attacked."

"You don't understand…" Kalara began.

"Do not lie to us," Cora stepped beside Kirk, not wearing the provided jacket from the pod but holding it in front of her, draped over her arms, for comfort of having something to do with herself and something to hold that wasn't a weapon or someone else's hand. Normally an Empathic would never speak so forcefully to another, but this woman was a hostile who had jeopardized her crew and caused events that injured her mate, she was due some anger of her own.

"Captain!" they could hear Chekov calling as he ran up to them, making a show of 'just finding them now' and not letting on that they had found him first, "Captain Kirk! Cora!"

"Yes, I lied," Kalara admitted, before she continued to lie more, "Our ship was attacked."

"Chekov, check the comms for survivors," Kirk ordered.

"Aye, Captain," Chekov called.

"Who is he?" Kirk demanded of Kalara.

Cora straightened subtly, using all the skill she possessed to NOT force the woman to tell the truth. Kirk was certain the woman would never admit the truth of her involvement, that she would continue to play the part of desperate crew member. If she suddenly blurted out her entire plan, she would know something was wrong. She might attack them, try to escape, and they could lose their connection to whoever did this. She clearly knew who it was and, if they were working together, _where_ he was. If they had any hope of getting to the man who took their crew, it was through Kalara. And right now she might be their bargaining chip. They had to keep her thinking they weren't suspicious of her.

She was still to test the woman, to ascertain if she was being truthful in any way, but ultimately she was not to urge the woman to speak.

"His name is Krall," Kalara told them, "He took my crew. Like he took yours."

Kirk glanced at Cora as she looked down only at the second part of the woman's words. Anyone else would think it was her mourning her crew's fate, but it was their system for the moment. Any lie from Kalara, Cora looked down.

"How did he know so much about the Enterprise?" Kirk asked when Cora lifted her head again, shifting around so he could see Cora's reaction clearer without needing to turn to see it, not wanting Kalara to grow suspicious as to why he kept looking over at her.

"All I know is that if I did this, he would set them free."

Cora turned around entirely, her gaze low so Kirk would know Kalara was lying once more, "Have you found any communications from the crew, PAC?"

With time and focus she could locate them, she was certain of it. She could already feel a large mass of emotion in a specific direction…but without knowing the lay of the land or where exactly it was, they could end up in worse straits. They needed a specific location and they needed to know what they'd be facing first. They had gone in blind once, another repeat and they did not want to think what could happen to the crew. And that was not even taking into account that others of the crew might be wandering about the woods that she may not sense until she was close enough. She felt Spock, but others might be too far away for her to sense.

That, and Kalara could not know she could sense her crew.

"Nothing," Chekov looked at them, sorrowful, "What if zey..."

"No," Kirk cut in, not about to entertain that notion, that they'd been killed by Krall, "No."

"They are alive," Cora reassured him, giving him a meaningful look. She would certainly sense the death of the rest of her crew. She just couldn't say it with Kalara right there.

"He was taking them," Kirk agreed, "We have to find that saucer. Even minimal scanning systems will have more range than a tricorder."

"Aye, Captain, it's possible," Chekov nodded.

"Captain," Kalara spoke, "I was protecting my crew."

Kirk and Cora glanced at each other for the words. There was a truth to it, Cora could sense that, but there was also a glee drifting off the woman. She was happy this had happened, it was as though she had made her crew proud. Cora had felt that in the past, she had recognized it easily, but, at the same time, there was something even Kirk was picking up from the woman. He, of all people, knew what it was like to protect his crew, he knew what lengths a person would go to for it, he knew the emotion that came from failing.

And even Kirk knew Kalara was not exhibiting anything like that.

~8~

It didn't take long to find the Enterprise, there were still faint plumes of smoke rising into the air where it had crashed. It was…a sorry sight to see when they reached the edge of the forest above the plain it fell in. To see their home reduced to ruin was heartbreaking.

"Ze Enterprise," Chekov murmured, "She may not ewen have power to ze Bridge, Captain."

"She still has a few tricks up her sleeve," Kirk remarked, "I'd bet on it."

Cora glanced back at Kalara as the woman looked down at the fallen ship. She exhibited no signs of remorse or empathy at seeing another ship crashed. Even more proof she was not who she seemed.

"Come on," Kirk sighed, leading the way down to the ship.

~8~

"McCoy to Enterprise," McCoy spoke into one of the comms. he'd managed to keep functional despite their rough landing, "Come in. McCoy to Enterprise," but there was no response. He sighed, looking ahead to where Spock was leading them through what appeared to be a rock canyon, the Vulcan keeping up better than he expected but he could see the man struggling, his arm firmly pressed to his wound, paler than he should be, "Hey, take it easy there, Spock. That was just a temporary fix back there."

"I understand, Doctor," Spock murmured, not about to stop for anything short of finding Cora, the Captain, or the Enterprise herself. He slowed, though, when they came to a tunnel of sorts, what appeared to be a cavernous opening carved into the rock wall before them, "Fascinating."

"Ominous," McCoy corrected, "Dark. Dangerous…" he sighed when Spock moved right for it, "We're going in."

"Intriguing," Spock remarked a moment later when they managed to climb within, seeing odd symbols etched into the ceiling of the room, "These symbols are the same as those depicted on the artifact taken in the attack."

"You think it came from here?"

"It would seem so," Spock murmured, before groaning and stumbling into the wall, sliding down to sit as McCoy rushed to help him down.

"Damn it, Spock. Easy. Easy."

~8~

It had taken till nightfall to make their way down the paths to the plains where the Enterprise was resting, but they'd made it. There were a handful of hostiles in the area though, two from what they could see and Cora could sense, that they would have to get past in order to make it into the ship.

"Captain," Chekov reported, looking at a part of the comm., "It looks like zere is power."

"Alright," Kirk glanced at them, "Let's get to the Bridge and find the crew."

He led them down patches of upturned earth and rocks, waiting behind a large boulder until the two hostiles had passed. They jumped across the ditch and hurried up towards an entrance to the ship, a hole in the side of it. It was somewhat difficult to get to the Bridge as some of the saucer had been warped and some halls were on their side. But they managed it.

"Ze console is intact, Captain," Chekov hurried over to it, "I will try to reroute power to it."

"Work fast," Kirk called, "Once we get this place lit up we're gonna draw a lot of attention," he and Cora stepped closer to him as the power came back on, Kalara staying behind them though Cora kept herself ready to subdue her if she tried to attack. Right now the woman seemed content to wait for something, "What, do you think can you find them?"

"Aye, Captain. I am reconfiguring scanners to modulate for ze crew's signals."

"James T. Kirk," Cora spoke, earning his attention, "There is something of great importance I must recover from the ship."

"I can assist!" Kalara stepped forward to offer, "She should not be alone."

Kirk's jaw tensed at that, knowing it wasn't part of the plan where HE was to take Kalara to find something he 'left behind,' but Cora seemed to have amended it, "Report back in two minutes and keep comms. open," he ordered Cora, giving her his comm..

"Yes, James T. Kirk," Cora agreed, though she was tense, not truly wishing to be alone with Kalara, but she knew her captain and she knew she would be safe. There was more truth to her statement than if Kirk had said the same, and she didn't want to risk Kalara becoming suspicious. And so she turned to lead the alien out of the room.

"What are we recovering?" Kalara asked as she followed Cora down the halls and to a room. She looked around, confused, when the doors opened to reveal a bedroom of sorts, destroyed and torn apart by the crash, but clearly a bedroom.

Cora didn't answer immediately, merely making her way over to a small chest along the wall, shifting it and pushing some debris away so she could open it. She pulled out an old, worn pack and a small box.

"Was the artifact on the ship the whole time?" Kalara questioned her again, moving closer, her gaze on the box.

Cora turned and looked at her, clutching it to her chest, and preparing herself. Now that she had a better idea of what was affecting her abilities, she could work around it, build it up sooner in preparation for later, like now, "What do you think?"

Empathics could not lie, no more than Vulcans could, but she had not lied. She had asked a question.

Kalara seemed to interpret it in the wrong way, the exactly intended way, for she suddenly smirked and pulled out a comm. of her own, "Tell Krall I have the Abronath," she called into it, before pulling out the phaser she had taken from her own escape pod to aim at Cora, "You would do well to hand that over."

Cora tilted her head at her, "Did you know fear can paralyze the body?"

Kalara opened her mouth as though to ask what she was on about, when the woman felt her voice freeze in her throat as a fear began to creep through her. It spread through her body like a flood of ice water in her veins. She didn't know where it was coming from but she tried to fire the phaser, only her arm and hand were just as frozen as the rest of her.

"What… _are_ …you?" Kalara managed to gasp out, her body shaking now, so much so she couldn't move or back away.

"My crew," a voice said behind her. The suddenness of the voice made her snap her head to look, it getting locked in that position as she saw Kirk there, with Chekov, both with phasers aimed at her, "My associate here is an Empathic," he told the woman, reaching out to pluck the comm. from her so she couldn't warn her partner in crime, Chekov moving to grab her phaser also, "Any emotion, she can make you feel. Fear is just one of them.

"Were you able to trace the comm. call, PAC?" Cora asked as she stepped past Kalara, pushing the box into her pack as she joined her captain and Chekov in the doorway. That had been the plan, using the console to track the next comm. transmission, not search for the crew exactly. They knew Krall was after the artifact, they knew Krall was aware they hid it, they just let Kalara believe it was on the ship. Once she thought she had it, they hoped she would contact Krall to report that to him, and she had.

"Aye, I have traced ze location," Chekov assured them.

"What does Krall want with the artifact?" Kirk demanded.

"To save you from yourselves," Kalara snarled.

Kirk smirked, "Truth," he remarked, "Another thing she can get from you. Cora?"

Cora looked at Kalara intently, pushing a need to be honest into her.

Kalara let out a hissing scream before grinding out, "He will use the artifact to wipe out your base, launch the stars into war with the bio-weapon, make humanity great again!"

"Thank you for your cooperation," Kirk smirked, before hitting a panel on the side of the door and slamming it shut, locking Kalara within, "Well…"

"Run!" Cora shouted, grabbing his arm to pull him on as two hostiles made it to the end of the hall and fired at them.

Kirk took the lead, moving them down the halls, sliding down walls, rushing around turns. There was only a brief moment where the firing stopped, when they heard a snarl and knew the hostiles had released Kalara as well. They managed to make their way into the engineering quarter.

"You alright?" Kirk looked at the other two.

"I am relatively well," Cora answered, gripping the pack tightly as she moved it onto her back. It contained…the only things she had left of her family. The box contained Spock's few precious possessions. Having the experiences they had, they had both taken to keeping their precious items in one place, together, in just such an event as needing to abandon ship. They hadn't been able to get to the items before, but she had now.

"Aye, Captain," Chekov agreed, "But we are trapped!"

Kirk moved his way over to the doors, trying to peek around when Cora reached out, "They are all there," she stopped him from getting fired at.

He sighed, looking to Chekov, "Can you get this thing started?"

"Are you intimating zat we should engage ze thrusters?" Chekov gaped at him, ducking down as they were fired at by Kalara and the others.

"I am open to other suggestions!"

"I can make them sleep…" Cora offered.

"It's not enough," Kirk shook his head, "We let them sleep, they'll wake up and go right for Krall. We can't let them escape."

"You mean to kill them," Cora realized.

"It's the only way right now, Cor," Kirk looked at her, "They are planning something to wipe out one of the Fleet's bases, they're trying to engage in acts of war, maybe even genocide. We have to stop them getting back to Krall."

"Captain," Chekov cut in, having moved to a control panel and attempting to do as Kirk bid, "Zere is a problem."

"What?"

"Ze fuel is primed but I cannot get it to combust…oy!" he cried when Kirk turned with his phaser, looking as though he were about to fire right down at the fuel himself, "Captain, we are basically standing on a wery large bomb. If you miss ze combustion compressor..."

"I'm not gonna miss, come on."

"Do you even know what ze combustion compressor looks like?"

"It's square, right?"

"No, sir," Chekov tried to tell him, but Kirk had already fired, "It's round."

"That's what I said."

Cora gasped and jerked back as the blast hit and sparked a large fireball that swarmed up towards them, "Run!" she called to them and they took off.

The blast was enough to send Kalara and the other hostiles running back as well as the ship began to move. They hurried in the same direction, nearly stopping at a crack in the floor where they could see two of the hostiles aiming their weapons at them. But Cora was prepared now and quickly sent them to sleep so the three of them could leap over the crack. Kirk turned, firing at Kalara who had followed them not just through the hall but over the crack. They struggled to keep going as the thrusters had the ship moving up and up, but the made it to the Bridge.

"Chekov!" Kirk shouted, firing his phaser at the window of the bridge, Chekov helping to crack it. They looked back just as Kalara appeared and grabbed Cora's arms, all three of them rushing at the glass and diving through it, sliding down the saucer as it moved more vertical with each second, trying to avoid being fired at by Kalara. Right when it moved straight up, they jumped off it, trying to maneuver themselves to the side, towards the edge of the ship. Kalara didn't seem to manage it, falling straight down.

"Move!" Kirk struggled to get them up from where they fell, seeing the saucer about to tip over, and pushed them along the base, the three of them jumping just past the edge of the saucer as it fell over onto Kalara, throwing them farther away with the force of it exploding behind them.

A/N: I hope the moment between Cora and Spock wasn't too difficult to follow. I was trying to write it like how you might see it in a movie, intercut scenes :/ Now, here's the real question...were they both imagining the other? Or was something else happening? };)

Poor Cora though, she just got a double whammy, feeling the aftermath of some of her crew dying in the attack and then Spock's pain :'( But she's come a long way from not willing to engage with a hostile, even to protect herself, and being willing to freeze Kalara in place with fear the way she did :) And at least she's landed with Kirk and Chekov, I debated where she should go, but I couldn't see her not being one of the last on the Bridge and landing somewhere between Chekov and Kirk and they found each other easily enough.

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, Cora trying to be threatening was fun for me to write :) it's also ironic, but we won't find out how for a while though ;) Spock is definitely desperate to get back to Cora, I agree :) For Piper, her story will be up as soon as Calm Before the Storm is finished, so around November ;)

I really wanted Spock and Bones to still be stuck together too, I feel like his bluntness will be something to help get through to Spock and help him realize some things he might have missed about the situation with Cora and New Vulcan ;) For Sherlock and Leena, their story will be up probably around December, only because I'm trying to get the other movie-stories updated first and they're sort of the not-a-movie but also not really a TV-show since its so few episodes ;) We'll have to wait and see about Eurus though, you bring up good points about Leena there ;)

Aww thank you so much! :') That really means so much to me to know you're enjoying the stories and the OCs :'D I've really been working on trying to pace myself and see what I can keep up with and what I can't and so far the updating schedule seems to be working. It might condense a little more once I finish some stories and get them caught up, as in I'll maybe focus on updating one or two stories at a time instead of five or six, but not for a while :) I'm really so touched, thank you :')

Cora's definitely grown a lot and there's still some work she's going to be pushing for :) She's stepped up in actively using her abilities against enemies and her crew, there's a revelation coming about the crew and her in a future chapter that will be quite important later in the series ;)

Lol, that is exactly how I'd picture Spock if his Pon Farr was now. Poor Bones, but then also poor Kirk and Chekov if Spock caught up to them. And then poor Cora because she'd have to basically sedate him when three grown men fail to keep him down long enough to treat his wound lol. And, depending if Scotty and Jaylah are around, she'd just be like 'Is this how your crew lays out a welcome mat?' :) Krall would certainly have been taken care of easily if Spock engaged him in combat lol :)


	5. Growing Numbers

Growing Numbers

"Spock!" a voice was shouting at him, "Spock, wake up, damn it!"

Spock sighed as he opened his eyes to find himself propped up against the wall of the small room he and McCoy had discovered, the man crouched close to him and appearing an inch away from smacking him again.

"I am entirely conscious, Doctor," he reassured the man, "I'm simply contemplating the nature of mortality."

It was a partial truth. He was _currently_ contemplating that, though before it he had been attempting partial meditation. He was trying to draw up the image of Cora that he had before. He could feel the pain throbbing in his side, but it was as though each time he imagined her, the pain dulled slightly.

"Feeling philosophical huh?" McCoy remarked as he moved to sit beside him instead of hunch over him, "Massive blood loss will do that to you."

Spock let out another long breath, "I received news that affected me unexpectedly and, since then, my thoughts have been lingering on the idea of mortality more and more."

McCoy frowned at that, not sure what to make of it. For a moment it sounded as though Spock was admitting to thoughts of taking his own life, but it was, frankly, ridiculous. Cora would have come to the med-bay as she had for others she sensed that off of. That and he knew the man would never do anything to endanger Cora. So there had to be something more.

"What news?"

"Ambassador Spock has died."

"Oh, Spock, I'm so sorry," McCoy spoke genuinely, "I can't imagine what that must feel like."

"When you've lived as many lives as he, fear of death is illogical."

"Fear of death is what keeps us alive."

"With his death, I thought that my…purpose in life had changed," Spock admitted, "Recently I have felt both content and discontent. That there is something more out there I should be doing. Upon discovering Ambassador Spock's fate, I felt that I owed a debt of duty to my species in his place."

"I get it, you think the purpose you were looking for is on Vulcan," McCoy finished for him, before a thought struck him, "Spock, have you talked to Cora about this?"

"She was aware of my discontent," Spock offered, "I…may have mentioned the thought of redirecting my efforts to continue Ambassador Spock's work on New Vulcan to her."

"I take it it didn't go well?" McCoy asked, hearing a regretful tone in Spock's voice.

"She feels indebted to the Fleet," Spock explained, "She cannot leave."

"But you want to. Yeah, I can see how that would upset her."

"I do not _want_ to leave," Spock looked at him, "I thought, for a brief moment, that I should, but Cora is my mate. I will not leave her, nor would I ever ask her to release me or break our bond. It was a momentary lapse of judgement."

"I get it," McCoy remarked after a moment, "You just got dealt a huge blow, your emotions, the scraps you do have buried in you, were higher than normal, you felt an obligation and you started to make a plan that you realized you shouldn't go through with once you calmed down. It happens to the best of us."

"Does it?" Spock asked.

"How the hell do you think I ended up in Starfleet?" McCoy scoffed, "Bitter divorce, my wife robbed me blind, I was a mess, and thought why the hell not, I had nothing left on Earth, nothing to lose. Signed up and found myself on a shuttle before I could talk myself out of it."

"You regret your decision to join the Fleet?"

"Not anymore," McCoy admitted, "But back then I thought I was out of my goddamn mind. Seemed like it was working out for me, but it doesn't always work out for everyone though. And, to be honest, Spock, I don't think it would have worked out for you either."

"Why so?"

"Well," McCoy let out a breath, "To start, you'd be talking about taking an _Empathic_ to a colony of _Vulcans_. You weren't exactly happy there as a half-Vulcan, imagine being a non-Vulcan."

"My mother…"

"Was a human who could only _guess_ what others thought of her," McCoy cut in, "Cora would be able to feel all of that," he didn't even want to imagine what those uptight bastards would think of half-Empathic hobgoblins running around one day either.

"I…did not consider that," Spock spoke, sounding honestly startled that he hadn't.

His childhood had not been the greatest, due in large part to the animosity he faced at being half-Human. If he brought Cora to New Vulcan as his mate, not only would she experience the same distaste his mother had, but likely worse. He had already seen it with the two delegates that spoke to him earlier, they acted as though Cora wasn't there, wasn't worthy enough to stand beside him, and the few times they did acknowledge her it had been with a distaste he could read, having grown up around the Vulcan expressions of it. An Empathic was on the opposite end of a spectrum from a Vulcan, treasuring emotion more than logic. She would, as McCoy had said, feel all of that distaste and animosity constantly. He could imagine it would dredge up some poor memories from her own childhood as well, to be looked at as unworthy just as the Mas'heirs had.

"You were emotional," McCoy tried to reassure him, "When humans hurt, Spock, it's hard for us to look at anything else, at anyone else, to take into consideration anyone else's pain. You were told the Ambassador died, it had to hurt, and in that hurt, you weren't thinking. Emotions, as hard as it may be for you to believe, aren't logical."

Spock's lip quirked at that, "Cora says the same," he let his head thump back against the wall, "She was very hurt by my thought to go to New Vulcan."

"You're not still planning to go, are you?"

"No. My mate cannot leave her crew, and I will not leave my mate. Nor would it be logical to return myself to a people I willingly removed myself from in the first place."

"Then she'll be fine," McCoy reached out to pat him on the shoulder, seeing he was starting to think about this logically again, "And hey, maybe all that is a sign that your purpose is something else."

"Perhaps," Spock could admit.

Thinking on it now…his purpose would have to be something else for exactly that reason. He knew what it would mean to mate to Cora, and he had done so, his fate, his purpose would always be tied to her. He had not been lying when he said he felt there was a purpose 'for us' when he spoke to her. Whatever the future held for him, Cora would be there, and it would be a purpose for THEM. He had just been so consumed in his grief over the death of the Ambassador that he had spoken without thought.

"And besides, I don't know what Jim would do if you ever left the Fleet. He would _not_ be happy. I mean, me, I'd throw a party but..." he trailed off when Spock began to chuckle at his words, actually _laughing_ at them, "My God, you're getting delirious."

~8~

Kirk turned, reaching out a hand to help Cora as he and Chekov led the way through the edge of the forest, down into a path of rocks, helping her jump down off one, "How far are we from the coordinates of that call?" he called over to Chekov.

"Still a ways, sir," he answered, "Captain?"

"Yeah."

"When did you begin to suspect her?"

"The moment Cora stepped on the Bridge," Kirk told him, "I was always right about you, Cor, you're our secret weapon."

"My apologies for not alerting you sooner," Cora murmured as she followed Kirk and Chekov.

"That's on me, Cor," Kirk argued, " _I_ was the one who chose not to call you in when Kalara first reached Yorktown. It's on me what happened to our ship too. You were right, a trap should always be avoided."

Just as he said it, he stepped on something that cracked under his foot, a brown gas starting to rise above them, "Run!" he shouted, pushing Cora ahead of them as they tried to escape the smoke.

There was a sudden small booming noise and Cora spun around, hearing Kirk and Chekov cry out, gasping when she saw the two men appeared to now be encased in a brown wall. It was as though the smoke had solidified around them, trapping them.

"James T. Kirk!" Cora moved back towards them, "PAC! Are you alright? Can you breathe?"

The two men didn't appear able to move at all and it worried her that the wall may be constricting their chests and air as well. She felt a discomfort off them and no other pains, but it was alarming nonetheless.

"We're alright, Cor," Kirk managed to wheeze out.

"I do not find zis to be 'alright,' Captain," Chekov grunted, "We are trapped."

Cora moved closer to the wall, reaching out to touch it, frowning deeply as she pressed on it. She tried to hit it with a hand, then a rock, but it was no use, "I cannot free…" she trailed off, looking down and to the side, as though about to peek over her shoulder from the corner of her eye.

"Cora?" Kirk called

"Two beings are approaching," Cora warned them softly, turning to position herself in front of them, her hands raised, bringing up a mix of emotions within her if she needed it. There was one signature that, the nearer it drew, the more at ease she felt, the more she recognized the emotions of it, sensed who it was.

"Montgomery Scott!" she nearly cheered, though she kept her arms raised, seeing a humanoid alien beside him, her skin nearly all white, blending into her white hair, with black markings on her face, dressed in grays with a weapon in her hand.

"Oh, Lassie, am I pleased to see you!" the man cried out as he caught sight of her, coming up behind the alien and rushing past to hug Cora, "And Captain!" he greeted, seeing the man and Chekov stuck in a mud wall.

"You know these ones?" the alien who accompanied him asked.

"Aye, Lassie," Scotty turned, an arm around Cora's shoulder as he faced the other woman, "That wee man there is Pavel Chekov."

"Hello," Chekov offered.

"And that handsome bastard is James T. Kirk."

"Pleasure," Kirk added.

"And this here's Cora," Scotty grinned, "They're my mates. It's good to see you."

"Who is your friend, Montgomery Scott?" Cora asked him, watching as the woman approached, fiddling with the weapon in her hand, though she felt no ill-will or malicious intent from her.

"This is Jaylah," he introduced.

"Scotty?" Kirk called when Jaylah began to power up her staff-weapon, "What is she doing?"

"She will not hurt you, James T. Kirk," Cora reassured him, "She is trying to help."

"Not making me feel better, Cor!" Kirk nearly shouted when the Jaylah woman poked the wall with her staff, causing it to shatter and drop them hard to the ground.

"You're free James T," Jaylah remarked.

"Oh god, don't tell me there's two of you," Kirk groaned when Cora moved to help him up, spreading a relief through him for any pains he may have sustained.

"I do not understand," Cora frowned, knowing the words had been directed at her, though she cast a glance over at Chekov as Scotty helped him up and the two exchanged a hug.

"If I have to tell another person to call me Jim…" Kirk trailed off with a sigh.

Cora blinked, glancing over at Jaylah, the woman resetting her staff, and smiled. The woman HAD called him 'James T.' much like how she called him 'James T. Kirk.'

Kirk shook his head and looked over at Scotty, "Your friend there sure knows how to throw out a welcome mat."

"I do not know what is a welcome mat," Jaylah remarked.

"You find anybody else?" Kirk continued to Scotty.

"I do not sense any of the crew nearby," Cora answered for him.

"No, sir," Scotty confirmed, "I'm sorry, you're the only ones. What the hell happened up there, Jim? Why were we attacked?"

"The alien Kalara wished to lead us into a trap," Cora told him.

"They were after the artifact we brought back from Teenax," Kirk added.

"Did they get it?" Scotty frowned.

"No."

"Have you got it?"

"No. I had to get it off the Enterprise, put it on a shuttle."

"You hid it in a shuttle?"

"Yes. And no."

~8~

Cora looked around in amazement at the familiar architecture around her as Chekov helped her step off a ladder and into a main room, having been led up there by Jaylah and Scotty. It was clearly Fleet-make, a Bridge of a starship, though very old.

"This is the U.S.S. Franklin," Scotty explained, "Can you believe it? First Earth ship capable of warp 4. Went missing in the Gagarin Radiation Belt in the early 2160s."

"I remember that from the Academy," Kirk murmured, seeming just as stunned to be standing there as the others, "Captain Balthazar Edison. One of the first heroes of Starfleet. How the hell did his ship end up here?"

"There's a lot of theories, sir. Surrendered to the Romulans. Captured by a giant green space hand. This far out, it's got to be a wormhole displacement."

"Can this ship still fly?" Cora glanced around.

"She's missing a few driver coils and the EPS conduits are fried," Scotty told them, "But Jaylah has done a marvelous job of getting the ship's systems back online."

"Thank you, Montgomery Scotty," Jaylah remarked as she moved to sit on the captain's chair, doing so only a moment before Kirk tried the same, the man awkwardly shifting away.

"Pardon me," Kirk murmured, glancing around, "Mr. Chekov, can you plug in the coordinates? See if you can track the crew's location from the ship's sensors."

"Aye, Captain," Chekov moved over to one of the consoles.

"He likes that seat," Cora looked over when Scotty whispered that to Jaylah, pointing at the chair.

"Mr. Scott," Kirk called out, "Tour."

"Yes, the mess hall," Scotty straightened, "Jaylah, if you will?"

"Yes," Jaylah nodded, getting up from the seat to lead them through the ship.

~8~

Cora stood before a monitor in the mess hall of the Franklin, watching as a clip glitched on a monitor, what appeared to be the last footage of the crew that once traveled in the ship. They all appeared happy, smiling and cheering on the camera, the image looping over and over the brief seconds of their faces.

"No clue what happened to the crew, huh?" Kirk asked behind her.

"No, sir," Scotty answered, "They'd be dead a hundred years by now."

"Is that a..." Kirk suddenly cut off and Cora turned, feeling the excitement and disbelief spark in him, to see him approaching a motorbike stationed near the back of the room, "That's a PX 70! Wow. My dad used to have one when he was a kid. My mom said he'd put her on the back of it, drive her nuts."

"Sir, um..." Scotty cleared his throat.

Kirk nodded to himself, focusing once more and looking over at him and Jaylah, "So you're telling me this thing's been here this whole time and no one's ever noticed it?"

Scotty just grinned.

~8~

It was quite the sight when Jaylah led them to the reason why none of the inhabitants of the planet had noticed that the Franklin was there. They climbed up another ladder to the top of the ship, Jaylah immediately moving over to small beams, checking on the tech that was scattering flashes of light around them. Looking around, Cora could see the ship under her feet, but every so often the light would flash over it and it would look as though she was standing on rock. When she looked out at the rest of the ship, the outer edges where the beams were aimed, there was no way to see the ship at all.

"She's rigged up image refractors," Scotty explained to them, "Here," he moved to take a closer look at one of them.

"So like some sort of holographic camouflage," Kirk worked out.

"Aye, sir."

"That is quite clever," Cora offered to the woman, who nodded sharply in thanks.

She turned, looking further past the edges of the ship, towards the rocky portion of the planet, near the edge of the woods, but where the trees trickled off into stone canyons or quarries. Her gaze drifted farther out, but still along the stones, she reached up towards her neck for a moment, before flattening her hand along the top of her chest. She knew Spock was there, he was somewhere out there, she could feel him.

"You ok, Cor?" Kirk spoke as he moved to stand beside her, not as excited about image refractors as Scotty, who was gushing with Jaylah behind them.

"I will be," she told him, not taking her eyes off the stones, "When the crew are found and safe."

Kirk smiled a little, "You mean, when Spock is safe."

"And the crew," Cora murmured, though it was clear in her tone that she very much wanted Spock safe, "But yes. I…do not like being parted from my mate."

Kirk nodded, understanding that. It wasn't on the same level as he was sure it was for Cora, but…right now he was feeling it. Being away from his crew, knowing they were in danger, not knowing if they were still alive. Not being able to do anything to help them…

"It will never go away," Cora continued, glancing at him, continuing when he gave her a questioning look, "If you are not on your ship, you are not with your crew."

Kirk let out a breath at that, her words hitting him hard. It really _wouldn't_ go away, would it? If he…if he went through with his plans, if he left the Enterprise, took up the Vice Admiral position he had been speaking to Paris about, he would be leaving his crew. He would be in this exact position for the rest of his life. Just because he was going to leave his crew, didn't mean his crew would leave his heart. He would be somewhere, away from them, never knowing if they were alright, if something happened to them, constantly worrying but unable to do anything.

"Captain!" Chekov's voice called out behind them as the man rushed up the ladder onto the top of the ship, "I hawe intercepted a weak communications transmission, sir. It's a Starfleet frequency."

Kirk nodded, following Chekov down the ladder once more, the others following them right to the Bridge. Chekov moved to the console, showing Kirk the signal he'd managed to pick up while trying to get Krall's coordinates into the systems.

"Can you lock on to the signal?" Kirk asked.

"Yes, but how do we get to zem?" Chekov countered.

"I have an idea, sir," Scotty offered, "But I'm gonna need your permission."

Kirk gave him an odd look for that, "Why would you need my permission?"

"Because if I mess it up I don't want it to be just my fault."

"Cor," Kirk began, "Are you projecting dread right now?"

Cora blinked and searched herself, "While I am experiencing something similar, I am not projecting at the moment, no."

"Great," he muttered, rubbing his face, it was all him then, "Mr. Scott, do whatever it takes."

~8~

"McCoy and Spock to Enterprise crew," McCoy continued to call into the comm., though his gaze was locked firmly on Spock as the Vulcan made his way along the rocks, his right hand using the walls around them as a support while his left remained pressed against his side. He had told the man to rest, but Spock was not about to do so until they'd found the crew, till Spock had found Cora, once more, "Come in Enterprise crew. Anyone," he let out a sigh, moving over to Spock's side to help the man, "You stubborn ass."

"It is imperative that we locate any surviving crew," Spock argued.

"Yeah, but it's not gonna help anyone if one of the crew dies on me along the way," McCoy muttered, "Look," he continued, "You want to find Cora, I get it, I respect that. But I'm the medical officer here, Spock, you need to respect me when I tell you to take it easy…" he trailed off when they spotted three hostile ships in the sky, the complete opposite of taking it easy.

"Of course, I respect you, Leonard," Spock replied, "I always assumed it was clear. The dialogue we have had across the years has always..."

"It's ok, Spock," McCoy cut in, "You don't have to say it…" he stepped away only a foot, looking at the ships approaching, the two of them back to back now, "Well, at least I won't die alone," he turned to Spock only to see the Vulcan was being beamed away, leaving him well and truly alone, "Well, that's just typical," he shook his head and put his fists up, "Come on, you bastards!" he let out a scream as the ships fired at him…and was beamed out himself.

"Good to see you in one piece, Doctor!" Scotty's voice rang out as McCoy found himself standing on an ancient-looking teleport pad.

"Oh, am I?" he asked stiffly, "I feel like my innards have been to a barn dance!" he turned around, his hand on his stomach, to see Kirk, Chekov, some alien they weren't up in arms about, and Cora there. He shook his head when he saw Spock making his way to Cora, resting back on a crate as he pulled the girl into his arms.

"Aye, well, these old transporters were only ever used for cargo," Scotty explained, he too was smiling at the sight of the two reunited mates, "But a few modifications seem to do the trick. I thought it best to beam you one at a time though. You know, in case you got spliced."

"Oh, I couldn't imagine a worse scenario," McCoy stepped off the pad and headed over to Spock and Cora. The two had untangled from their tight hug, their eyes closed with their foreheads resting against each other now.

"Good to have you back," Kirk looked between the two, trying to give Spock and Cora a few more moments of 'privacy' and peace, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…"

"But Spock is hurt," Cora finished for him, taking a breath and opening her eyes to look over at them, lightly moving a hand near Spock's injured side, resting it gently there but applying no harmful pressure.

"I am functioning adequately, Captain," Spock disagreed slightly.

"In a pig's eye you are!" McCoy scoffed.

"I feel no pain or discomfort at all," Spock defended, pushing himself off the crate to stand as though to prove his words.

It didn't escape any of them how he moved his arm around Cora's shoulders, how she stared at him with the utmost concentration and focus. It was clear that she was countering that pain and flooding his system with other emotions to help him endure.

"Yeah," Kirk rolled his eyes, "And the second Cora stops doing her thing, you're gonna be singing a different story."

"Why would I sing about an injury?" Spock asked with a small frown, one that Cora mirrored in confusion of the context, "The only story I have to tell is that we discovered the stolen artifact appears to have come from this planet."

"It's a turn of phrase," Kirk waved it off, "We're getting you fixed up, now."

"Are there even any medical supplies on this thing?" McCoy looked over at them.

"This way," Jaylah nodded, leading them off, Spock keeping his hand locked with Cora as he followed easily enough.

"Bones, just out of curiosity," Kirk mumbled to the man as they watched the two go, "How strong _is_ her pain killing effect?"

McCoy scoffed under his breath, "Your leg could be torn off and you'd still feel fit enough to run a marathon."

Kirk let out a whistle at that.

~8~

Cora helped Spock over to a couch set up in the middle of the room Jaylah led them back to. The relief she felt not just radiating off of Spock but coming from inside herself as well was staggering. Having her captain and Chekov with her during their separation was helpful, but it was feeling Spock, even as far away as he was, that had helped her keep going. The knowledge that he was still alive, that they could (and would) find each other again, that even though he was injured he was strong enough to go on, it helped her focus. Now that she had him back…

Well, she couldn't help but spare a single moment's thought to the discussion they'd had to cut off earlier. She loved Spock, with all her heart, and the idea of being separated from him in such a way? Not just being planet-side while one of them was on the Enterprise or being parted while both on the same planet? It was devastating to her, to think about him being on one planet, while she was halfway across the universe.

It was always hard, to be apart from him, but over the years they had learned to cope with it, to endure it while on missions. She didn't know how she would be able to cope if he went to New Vulcan.

She looked down when she felt Spock squeeze the hand he was still holding tightly, not even noticing McCoy digging through a pile of tech Jaylah had given him as the medical supplies.

"This has taught me," he murmured to her, his thumb stroking over her hand, "I would not be able to cope either."

Cora gave him a sad smile for his words, understanding. This separation had shown him the same things. He did not think he would be able to last if he went to New Vulcan when she could not join him.

"We will talk more later," she reassured him, reaching out with her free hand to touch the side of his face, her fingers brushing the hair from his forehead and trailing down to cup his cheek, "Please, rest."

"He doing alright?" Kirk asked as he joined them, crouching down near Spock's head while Cora sat on the edge of the couch next to him.

"My mate is taking exceptional care of me," Spock reassured him.

He had not been lying before when he told them he was operating just fine. Cora had not let go of his hand, not that he was about to release his hold on hers either, and had been ensuring he felt nothing but peace and comfort, the pain in his side numbed. Logically, he knew there was a gaping wound in his side, but in this moment he would never have known it by what he felt. There was not even the smallest sting of pain.

Kirk smiled at that, glancing between the two of them. He wanted to feel reassured, that if they could find each other, then they could find the rest, save them. Having a Vulcan and an Empathic gave them a better chance, but their chances were low to begin with. He let out a breath, rubbing his head, "How are we gonna get out of this one, Spock? We've got no ship, no crew. Not the best odds."

"We will do what we have always done, Jim," Spock looked over at him, "We will find hope in the impossible."

Kirk glanced down once more when he saw how Spock unconsciously gripped Cora's hand tighter. If this bond between he and Cora could grow, between an Empathic and a Vulcan, if that impossible thing could happen, he could admit it did reassure him more, "Let's get you patched up first, ok?"

"No, Captain," Spock argued, "You must focus your efforts on helping the crew."

"Well, that's why I need you around, Spock," Kirk told him, "And, logically, helping you _is_ helping the crew."

Cora smiled at that.

"These things are from the dark ages," McCoy muttered as he moved over to them, Kirk and Cora shifting aside to allow him better access to Spock's wound.

"Bones," Kirk huffed.

"I'm pretty sure this is a protoplaser," McCoy explained as he crouched down, readying the device, "Should stop the internal hemorrhaging. At least, that's my hope."

Spock closed his eyes for a moment, "'The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.'"

"Death's door and he's quoting Shakespeare," McCoy muttered. He shook his head, focusing and looking up at Cora, "You ready?"

They didn't have any anesthesia, at least none he'd feel comfortable using on a Vulcan after so many years. Cora would be their best bet to help keep Spock from going into shock during the procedure, to help numb the pain. For as sturdy as Vulcans were, for how much they didn't display emotions, he knew Spock felt them, and he'd feel this pain too, especially with such an archaic device.

Cora nodded, lifting Spock's hand to rest her other hand on his, gripping it between both of hers as she closed her eyes to focus on preventing him from feeling any more pain.

Kirk watched, a smile growing on his face as his crew worked together. With every second he felt his hope grow too. They had crashed, with little to no resources but each other, a couple phasers, and a comm.. And they'd manged to find more crew, heal wounds, gather resources. They were coming together, they were all using every skill they had to strengthen each other, and he knew, even in such small numbers, they'd be able to do this. They would save their crew.

Krall had no idea what was coming for him.

A/N: Yay, Spock and Cora are back together! :D

I really enjoyed writing the conversation between Spock and Bones though. I felt like he'd be blunt about his thoughts on the situation and that would sort of help Spock logically think about things. Remembering his childhood, remembering his mother, why he left, but also how Cora would be affected. Usually, with death, we try to remember the good about a person. I feel like that sort of translated to Spock to thinking on the good of Vulcan and his people, but that, logically, if he returned to a place that originally made him unhappy, he'd be unhappy again. No one would accept his mate, if she could join him, and he's starting to realize through this separation that he doesn't want to be parted from her. Not that he ever did, but that being physically separated and not by choice is what would happen if he went to New Vulcan. He's not doing well away from her, he wouldn't be of use to his people if his thoughts and focus were constantly on his mate.

I also enjoyed the little moment between Cora and Kirk. I feel like his sense of adventure was rekindled with this movie. But I also felt like, below the surface, there was the realization that if he left his crew he'd never know if they were ok, like throughout this movie. They've become his family too and to leave and not be there to help them if they were in trouble would always be with him.

Some notes on reviews...

I can say Cora won't go full on phoenix in this story no, that would be terrifying lol ;)

Cora and Spock's connection is something we'll see more both by the end of this story and a little more in another story to come. The way Cora was able to bond with Spock will be something important to her and have her thinking seriously about her abilities and exactly that question, is it her or is it him? ;)


	6. New Allies, Old Fears

New Allies, Old Fears

Cora stood to the side of the Bridge on the Franklin, beside Spock as they all gathered, trying to think of a plan for how to save the rest of their crew. Spock seemed to be doing well since McCoy had treated the wound, he was standing and moving around. And she was quite pleased that her own efforts to assist had seemed effective. She may have used a bit too much at one point to both dull the pain and replace it with a more pleasant feeling, not only had Spock begun to smile rather dopily...or what she assumed was such for a Vulcan...but it had begun to spill out into the others in a partial projection. They were all glad Spock wasn't feeling any pain, but they didn't quite need to feel the rest of it. She made sure to keep part of her attention attuned to Spock in case his side began to hurt again, she'd rather prevent the pain ever reaching him than allow him to feel a moment of it.

"We should wait until we're absolutely sure," Scotty was arguing against Kirk, who wanted to use coordinates Chekov had found through Kalara's call.

"No, we have to get the crew back now," Kirk remained firm, "Chekov has the coordinates that can lead us to Krall's base, so we go!"

Scotty opened his mouth to continue shouting, when a calm began to settle over them.

"Seriously, Cor, still _so_ creepy," Kirk muttered, though there was no bite in his voice. They were all used to a calm overtaking them when tensions were high and she was around. It did throw them off quite a bit though when she was in another room and _still_ managed to sense the rising anger and send calm to them. Even after three years experiencing her abilities first hand, it still unsettled him how instantly and easily she could bring down a situation and make him feel like dialogue as opposed to shouting was best.

"With respect, sir," Scotty continued, more subdued, "How do we know that Krall was at the base when she called him? Even if he was, we don't know that the crew is even with him."

"Or if they're even still alive," McCoy added.

"They are alive," Cora spoke up, "I…I have felt…" she took a breath, "Not all who were taken remain," she had felt it as though pinpricks, like the whole of a mass of emotion lessened minutely. She wasn't near enough to feel the death itself, but she could feel how there was less to feel when she turned her focus to where she felt the crew were gathered, "But a great number of the crew survive. I feel them, they are together."

"There, see," Kirk pointed at her as though he'd won the argument.

"It still doesn't help up track if they're with Krall or if he's somewhere else," McCoy pointed out, rolling his eyes when Kirk shot him a look as though he'd betrayed him.

"And, no offense, Lassie," Scotty added, "But you cannae pinpoint where they are, only lead us to them."

"Actually," Cora began, hesitating to speak, not sure how her words would be taken.

Spock frowned, seeing a flash of the thought in her mind that was causing her great concern and hesitation, "Why are you suddenly thinking of Vokaya?"

"Vodka?" McCoy asked, shaking his head, not understanding though perking up a little at the idea there might be some nearby. He was going to need a stiff drink after this mess.

"Vokaya," Cora repeated though her nose crinkled somewhat at the mention of Vodka. She'd had the misfortune of tasting the liquid once, a mishap with mixed up cups during a birthday celebration for Chekov onboard the Enterprise. She'd been given the wrong cup, taken a sip...and promptly spit the drink back into the cup with a grimace. It was terrible!

"It is a mineral unique to Vulcan," Spock explained, "Which emits low-level radiation. I presented Cora with a Vokaya amulet as a token of my affection and respect."

"That blue necklace?" Kirk blinked, seeming to realize something when he looked at Cora with some concern.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Hold on," McCoy shook his head, "You gave your mate radioactive jewelry?"

"The emission is harmless, Doctor," Spock reassured him, "But its unique signature makes it very easy to identify."

"…you gave your mate a tracking device?"

Spock blinked, looking at the others who were now staring at him, and realized, by human terms and without context or understanding of his reasons, that did appear to be what he'd done, "That was not my intention."

"I'm glad he doesn't respect me," McCoy muttered.

"It was a precaution," Spock defended, he had no intention to ever use the amulet to monitor her movements as though he needed to know where she was at all times. There was only one time he would ever use the amulet in such a way and that was the reason he'd given it to Cora, "To keep her safe."

"I'm a little lost here, Spock," Kirk gave him an odd look, "How does a Vokaya amulet keep Cora safe?"

"Because there is a formula that can be used to home in on the coordinates," Spock explained, "When coupled with teleportation parameters aboard the Enterprise, it can be used to locate the mineral, and, therefore, Cora, and beam her aboard, no matter where she is."

"Still getting a tracking device feel, here," McCoy stated.

"We were unable to beam Spock to the Enterprise from the volcano on Nibiru," Cora reminded them, "When the comm. cut out, we could not pinpoint his location in order to do so. Spock did not want to be put in a similar situation."

It had been the result of a series of difficult dreams he had had. Just as Cora had once dreamt it was not Pike who had died in Daystrom but himself, he had dreamt it hadn't been him in the volcano but her. When his father had given him his mother's necklace, it was as though that part of his mind had been reassured. The shared concern between his human and Vulcan half over his mate's safety had been promised with that necklace. No matter where she was, the teleports on the Enterprise were advanced enough to be able to beam her up using the necklace as the coordinates.

"It is very sweet," Cora continued.

"Alright, fine," Kirk shook his head, seeing that as a bit more morbid than sweet, but then again he didn't understand a lot of things that made up Cora's relationship with Spock, if it was agreed between the two of them, fine. Right now they needed to find that blue stone, "So we need that formula to change the search parameters. Spock, I assume you know this formula?"

"I do," he nodded, "But I do not see why it is needed. Cora is right here."

Kirk opened his mouth to tell him something, to tell him what Cora had done when she'd found him on the Enterprise mid-attack, but it wasn't his right to do so. This was something clearly between Spock and Cora.

Cora looked at the Vulcan, an apology written all over her face, "I am. But the amulet is not."

Spock blinked and turned to her, "It is not?"

"I am so sorry, Spock," Cora told him, earnest, "James T. Kirk hid the artifact with Ensign Syl. The pods were ejecting at different times, the chances of being separated was great. I realized he had no way to find it once more. I gave Ensign Syl the amulet to ensure we could find her and the artifact once more. I firmly believe all the crew are together. She is with them."

Spock continued to stare at her.

"Cora?" Kirk called out as he felt an apprehension and guilt start to seep into him, a quick glance at the others shifting showing they were too, "You're projecting again."

Spock blinked, realizing he could feel it as well, he could see her looking down as she tried to pull the emotions back into her, but _he_ could still feel it. He knew she felt so poorly for placing the amulet with Syl, knowing how important the item was to him, to be the last remnant he had of his mother, how much it meant to both of them. She was guilty and anxious, concerned, and worried for his reaction. He knew she had not given it to Syl to keep, but to return later, and he knew she had good reasons to make that split second decision.

He would not lie and say he was not somewhat hurt that she had removed the necklace and placed it with another. But it was surprisingly less to do with the fact that it was his mother's amulet and more to do with the basis of his fears. Cora could have been taken and he would not have been able to locate her. If she had gotten lost in the woods or among the stone, she could have been alone and he would have found the crew instead of her.

When his father presented him with the necklace, it became his. A gift to him. Which he had then given to Cora, a gift to her. It had gone from being his mother's necklace to Cora's necklace.

He was not angry with her for giving the necklace to someone else, it was clearly intended to be a temporary condition. He was more upset that he could have lost her and not had a way to find her again.

"It was a logical decision," he finally spoke, realizing that his upset was the illogical part. Cora was beside him, she was with him, there was no logic in being upset he _might_ not have been able to find her when there was no need to find her. Emotions were not logical, he understood it, it was ironic that the one among them that favored emotion more than most, had come to a logical plan, "With Ensign Syl in possession of the amulet, we can now track the crew," he nodded, moving over to a console where Chekov was, putting in the formula.

"I will hawe to filter out all other energy emissions," Chekov murmured, getting to work.

"You are not angry?" Cora asked, stepping over to Spock.

He looked at her, "Do I feel angry?"

Cora blinked, reaching out through their bond, "You are _proud_ of me?" she asked, sounding genuinely startled. Of all the emotions she had thought he might feel, pride was one she had never considered.

Spock reached out to take her hand, wanting her to be sure of how he felt, "It could not have been easy to part with the amulet."

Logically, Cora was with him, the crew were not. It was illogical to be upset she'd removed the necklace when the reason behind giving it to her was null. He could look at it in that lens.

But Cora, she had so few possessions. She had a small pack that she had taken with her from Hestia, reminders of her family. That was all. She had no means to return home, she had no other possessions besides those. Except the amulet. It was the first gift he had given her, and it had been something important to him.

Of the two of them, she would be the one to become attached emotionally to an object. It would be difficult for her to part with something so meaningful. But she had, because it was the logical thing to do, to give them a way to find not just the artifact, but the crew. And he was immensely proud of her for being able to make that decision to separate the emotions that must have been overwhelming her with a plan her mind had formed.

He reached out, curling a finger under her chin to guide her gaze to him, "I am _very_ proud."

Cora began to smile at that…

"We're proud of you too, Lassie," Scotty spoke up, causing the two mates to look over at him, "...and I ruined the moment. Sorry."

Kirk dropped his head into his hand and shook it. Though he was a little relieved their moment was over. It was both oddly endearing to see Spock be sweet to someone, but also a little off-putting for the normally stoic man. That and Cora had started to project once more. He was really going to need to talk to her about that when all this was over. It was great she was happy, but he could do without feeling all those warm and fuzzy feelings directed at Spock.

"Captain!" Chekov called when the computer began to beep, "I am detecting a wery trace amount of Wokaya."

"Does the location match the coordinates you acquired from Kalara, Mr. Chekov?" Spock asked, switching gears and getting back on topic.

"It is a match, sir," he nodded.

"Its presence suggests that Ensign Syl, and thereby the rest of the crew, are being held at Krall's base of operation."

"Can you beam them out?" Kirk asked.

"No, sir," Chekov sighed, if it had been the Enterprise, they would have, but the teleport system on this ship was ancient, "Zere is some geological interference zat is blocking the transporter signal on zis ship."

"Well, I guess we're gonna have to go in and break them out the old-fashioned way," Kirk sighed.

"You cannot go to this place," Jaylah spoke suddenly, "Everyone who goes there, he kills."

"You've...you've been there?" Kirk turned to her, "You've seen it?"

"Well, why didn't you say something, Lassie?" Scotty asked.

"It is not a good place," Cora answered, "It does not bring up good thoughts," she could sense the mix of Jaylah's emotions. Fear, reluctance, despair, anger, hurt, loss, pain, and so many others.

"I know you will ask me to take you there," Jaylah added, "If your friends are there, then they will die, just like my family. And I will not go back to that death place!"

"Aye, but if you've escaped then you can show us the way in and the way out," Scotty argued.

"No!" she shouted, "This is not the deal we made Montgomery Scotty. If you choose to do this, you are on your own."

"Wait…" Scotty called as the woman turned to storm off to the next room.

"Let her go," Kirk tried to call out when Scotty moved to follow.

"She's lost people too, Captain," Scotty reminded them and left the room.

"She is very hurt," Cora told them, "And very scared," she looked between the men around her before slowly making her way after Scotty.

~8~

Scotty paused as he entered the room, seeing Jaylah intently focused on her staff and fiddling with it, checking it over and tweaking it, "Look," he slowly approached her, "That's our friends out there, Lassie. Right? We cannae just leave them behind. Now, we could really use your help. We just need you to be brave, is all."

Jaylah shook her head, not looking at him even as she spoke, "When we were in that place, Krall would come and take someone. There were screams. I can still hear them. And we would not see that person again. We did not know who would be next. My father planned an escape. But we were seen by the one they call Manas," she glanced up, seeing something out of the corner of her eye, and noticing Kirk had moved into the doorway, following Cora as the woman entered the room but they didn't step further in, "My father fought him so I could get out. He was brave and Manas killed him. What you want is impossible."

"Look, maybe it's not," Scotty admitted, "Right. My wee granny used to say 'Ya cannae break a stick in a bundle.' You're part of something _bigger_ now, Lassie. Right? Dinnae give up on that. 'Cause we'll sure as hell never give up on you. That is what being part of a crew is all about."

Jaylah let out a breath and looked over, "Is that what you believe in James T.?"

"All I know is we stand a better chance with you," Kirk told her. He looked beside him as Spock, McCoy, and Chevok moved to the doorway, "We stand a better chance when we're together, all of us."

Cora slowly stepped down into the room, hearing Jaylah's story, the way her father had given everything to ensure his daughter survived and feeling an empathy for her.

"You…" Cora began, hesitating a moment to try and gather her own courage to speak, "You feared. I have too."

"Your fear is not _my_ fear," Jaylah muttered, looking down at her staff as she fixed it.

Cora glanced down, before taking a breath and moving over to Jaylah. The woman looked up when Cora came to stand on the other side of the table she was working at.

A moment later, Jaylah let out a short breath, before panting, her eyes widening before she stumbled back, "What you do to me!?" she demanded, grabbing a knife from her belt. She had been fine, just moments ago, angry and a little fearful, but fine and then it was as though _all_ she could feel was that fear in the camp, but worse, _so much worse_.

"Fear," Cora told her, " _My_ fear," Jaylah looked confused, "I am an Empathic, I can…share emotions," she offered, not wanting to have to go into detail about what she could do.

"And that?" Jaylah asked, "That was your fear?"

She nodded, resting her hands on the table and looking down at the odds and ends lying on it. Her gaze drifted to her arms, to the sleeves of her uniform, "My people are modest, but…I do not wear this version of the Starfleet uniform just for that," she looked up at Jaylah as she moved to push the sleeve of her right arm up.

The woman stepped closer, moving her knife to her other hand and taking Cora's right wrist, turning her arm this way and that as she frowned down at it, "How you get these?"

Cora could sense Kirk, Chekov, and Scotty stepping closer, looking at her arm in the dim light of the room, able to see the faint scars scattered along it even in the light. McCoy and Spock remained nearer the door, both had seen the scars, McCoy in his medical examinations, more so focused on those of her back to ensure the damage there wasn't irritated or infected, and Spock as her mate. But no other member of the crew had ever seen her scars before, not till now.

"My people are slaves," she explained to Jaylah, "If we misbehave, we are punished by the Mas'heirs. When I was young, I…did not thank them properly."

"Thank them?" Jaylah asked, letting go of Cora's arm though the girl didn't cover up the scars again, just looked at them.

She was silent for a long moment, not sure she could truly put words to it all, to all the years she had endured under the Mas'heirs hands, to all that her people still endured, "We are _always_ grateful to our masters for allowing us to live," she murmured, able to sense the shift in the room at her words, "Every year we live, every breath we take, are ones the masters _allow_ us to have."

"Cor…" Kirk breathed, utterly stunned to hear that. He looked over his shoulder at Spock, the only one in the room who didn't seem shocked at what Cora was saying, and why would he, if Cora told anyone about her past, it would be her mate. Though Spock looked like he was just barely holding himself back from murder.

It was a large part of her feelings of being indebted to the Fleet. The Mas'heirs controlled them, every aspect of their lives. From the moment of their birth, to who they had families with, to where the children were placed, to how they died or how long they lived. The Mas'heirs made sure that the Empathics knew who held the control and power over them, that they held the lives of their slaves in their hands. Every single moment, it was always emphasized, was one more the Mas'heirs allowed them to have and that could be taken away at any moment.

And when they were sold, when the eleventh children were torn away and sent off-world, those feelings were even stronger. These were the people who took them away from the Mas'heirs, and they should be grateful to see so much of the universe. They should be grateful for a new purpose in life. They should be grateful that they were deemed useful enough to be desired by others. It didn't disappear when an Empathic was freed, because every moment of freedom was due to their new masters. They should be grateful for being released, and every moment of freedom was due to the Fleet. All the places she saw, all the people she helped, the food and clothing and purpose, it was all because the Fleet had done this for her.

"When we come of age, we must thank them," she continued as though she hadn't heard him, still looking at her arm, recalling that time, "They have allowed us to live 10 years, they are not always so generous. I did not do so fully. I missed a word. It was an unforgivable slight and it was only right that I be punished for such disrespect."

"These masters gave you scars," Jaylah realized.

"I was punished severely," Cora added, "But I was…" she shook her head, closing her eyes as she pulled her sleeve back, knowing she had been lucky to be such a prized eleventh child when others were not so lucky, "I was too valuable to them to kill as I should have been. They offered of my family to take my place, to endure the rest of my punishment for me. My father did not hesitate," she looked up at Jaylah, "He survived, but barely. I feared for my life, my family, my father. And that was not the first or last time I would."

Jaylah looked away.

Cora stepped forward, "I fear now," she told the woman, "For my crew. My crew is my family, they…" she trailed off a moment, turning her head, her expression morphing just slightly, "My crew is my family."

She blinked at that, she had said it before, to others, to Khan, that the crew was her family to protect. At the time, it had been directed more to a small number of the crew, those she had been closest to, Spock especially. But it had been nearly three years since then, she knew her crew better, all of them, she had gotten to know them, to speak to them, engage with them. The entire crew had become her family, if it had not been for this situation, this fear she felt for them, she might not have realized…

"Cora?" Spock called, stepping more into the room when she didn't continue to speak, moving over to her side and reaching out to touch her arm.

Cora blinked rapidly, "My apologies," she shook her head, needing to focus more on the situation than the revelation she'd just had. She looked back at Jaylah, "You have lost your family," she finally finished, "Do not ask us to lose ours. Not when they could become yours too."

Jaylah looked between them all, seeing people who would not give up, seeing people who would fight for their family, the way her father had fought for her.

And so, she gave them a nod.

~8~

Cora looked up when she felt Spock approaching her, where she was sitting on the couch of the mess area, the man sitting down next to her. She watched as he slowly reached out to take her hand, using his other to gently move her sleeve up once more.

"These are symbols of your strength," he reminded, as he always did whenever the times came that she would look at her scars as anything but that.

It didn't happen often, not recently at least. At first Cora had been very self-conscious about the scars the Mas'heirs had left on her for their punishments. It had gone from being symbols of her failures, the deserving punishments, to being a sign of her weakness, that she should have found some way to protect herself, to stop it. He had worked hard to help her see them as signs of strength, that she had survived, that she was still there, she had endured and come out alive.

But, every so often, a powerfully painful memory would come about, and her mind would wander to that time, to what the scars had meant then. Her words to Jaylah, he knew, were one such moment. How she had spoken about herself, her past, it was difficult to bear hearing about.

"I know," Cora murmured, squeezing his hand and looking down at her arm, "It is…funny," she remarked, "Sometimes I can almost forget they are there."

He looked to her, not needing to speak for her to know he was curious.

She glanced at him, the corner of her lip quirking in the smallest of smiles when she nodded, "When you look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like I am precious to you."

He tilted his head, "You _are_ precious to me."

"I feel that too," she admitted, "When it is you. And, when you look at me like that, it reminds me I am precious, I am not worthless."

Spock couldn't help but smile at hearing her say that. He could still recall a time where she had thought herself no more than a worthless slave, had called herself it. But then Khan happened, and she had realized the value she held, not just to the Fleet, but to other people, to him, but more so, to herself. She was worth something to every person on the crew, she was worth everything to him. To hear that she truly believed this now was an immense relief to him. He could only do so much to convince her of her worth, she needed to feel it herself, and she did.

"I am glad."

She opened her mouth, wanting to speak to him more about her feelings of him considering returning to New Vulcan, but she knew and she felt that that was a conversation best kept for when this was over. It was going to be too important to rush through or to risk it being cut off once more. She could feel that they would come out of it stronger, just as she had with enduring the Mas'heirs, and that was enough for her.

"I was able to obtain other precious items from the Enterprise before it was destroyed," she told him, changing the topic only slightly, "My pack, and your box, they are safe here on the Franklin."

"Thank you," Spock breathed, his eyes wide.

Though it should not surprise him. Many of the crew had small keepsakes, but not many brought objects onto a starship that were important or sentimental to them. It could be dangerous to be among a Fleet crew. It had been proven over and over, ships getting attacked, their own had been lost and destroyed in moments. Many chose to keep their valuable items on their person or on their home planets, with other loved ones, safe elsewhere.

It was not an option for him nor Cora. She had nowhere to go but her ship, it was the only home she had as she had been taken from her planet and all she had to her name were the items she brought with her and the uniforms the Fleet provided. From what Kirk had told him and McCoy of how they'd gotten Krall's location, the ship had been in ruins, there had been other hostiles in the area, and Cora had used herself as bait to trick Kalara into revealing herself as one of Krall's henchmen. He was not pleased at all that she had done that, but Kirk had reassured him, had sworn, he had been behind them and following closely. He knew it was illogical given the danger it had put her in over a handful of items, but he was happy for her that she had gotten her possessions back.

He was touched she had also gotten his few items as well. He had the option of transferring them to his father, to New Vulcan, to keep for him. But he had not been able to do so. He had seen his planet destroyed in an instant and it had stuck with him. He had kept those few possessions with him on the Enterprise. The only thing he had left elsewhere was the box from Ambassador Spock, which he had placed in the safe keeping of Yorktown for they would be returning there after the mission. Or so he had thought at the time.

He was touched, but not surprised.

"Spock," Kirk's voice called out a moment later, "Cora? Jaylah's got us set up."

They looked over and nodded, standing and moving over to a table Jaylah had positioned odds and ends to represent Krall's base. Now all they needed was a plan.

A/N: Awww, Cora :'( And Jaylah :'( But Cora! D':

I wanted to explore just why Cora feels so indebted to the Fleet to the point where she wouldn't leave even for her mate. The gratitude runs deep thanks to the Mas'heirs. I could imagine if someone lived their entire life with the mentality that every single breath they took only happened because someone else _allowed_ it, that it would certainly mess them up a lot later in life. To Cora, she owes the fleet, because every moment of freedom is thanks to them, every breath she takes from the moment she left Hestia is because 'they allowed it' just as the Mas'heirs have trained the Empathics to think. And here's probably also a healthy dose of fear that it could be taken away at any moment. One wrong move on Hestia and the allowance of the Mas'heirs stops, you're dead or you're tortured or your family is. One wrong move in the Fleet and for all she knows (or fears, because she may know it won't happen, but fear usually clouds that) the Fleet's allowance may run out and she'll be shipped off back to Hestia. Part of her 'gratefulness' is true and utter terror of what happens if she misbehaves :(

But I also think we've seen Cora grow a lot in just the last...7ish years? Four in the Academy, 3 on the Enterprise, plus the months between the first movie and the second, so yeah, 7 or 8 years. Spock has been a huge help with her self-confidence, having a crew that supports her and a Captain that clearly cares about his crew as much as Kirk does has sort of helped her feel comfortable and encouraged to grow. There's still much more to come for her though ;)

Speaking of growing though, Cora seems to have had some sort of revelation about how her care for her crew has grown too, from just a handful to the entire ship. I wonder why that struck her so much and what it might mean... }:)

The Vokaya amulet :) I feel like that would be a reason Spock would give it to Cora. Already he was subconsciously not wanting to be away from his mate or separated from her, he just needed a kick of reality to realize that lol :) I also thought he would tell her about it, not just in it being his mother's but what it could do. Poor Kirk and Bones, they're so confused by the relationship :) I felt like Cora would be the one freaking out over what Spock would think of her loaning it to Syl for its tracking purposes, and Spock would be more 'well that was a logical plan, well done' and realize for Cora to part with something important to her would be something she'd already feel bad enough about :)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I do have an original Cora story planned, but I've also heard that there might be a 4th Star Trek movie sometime next year. Not sure if it's true, but I'll have more about both stories in the last chapter ;) We'll have to wait and see what it might be about, there's oodles of possibilities ;)

I'm not sure about a Chekov story, it's always possible ;) I'm probably weird but my writing process isn't 'let me sit down and create an OC specific for this show/person' but more me doing random things throughout the day and suddenly, out of nowhere, an OC is just like 'hey! what up! So about this Spock guy...' and they just sort of pop out at me already made and ready to go. So far none have popped out for Chekov, but that's not to say one of the ones still swimming in the back of my mind won't one day go 'So let's talk about Chekov...' ;)


	7. A Crew United

A Crew United

"The digging machines uncovered a tunnel that goes into the crater," Jaylah told them as she pressed a rounded object at the corner of a table full of odds and ends to represent Krall's base, this one symbolizing the tunnel, "That's how I got out."

"So that'll be our way in," Kirk nodded, "An away team will beam to the other side of the tunnel, follow it to Krall's base, get inside the building, and break out the crew."

"Uh, Captain," Chekov interrupted quietly, "We cannot lock onto anyone inside ze crater in order to beam zem out."

"The geological interference," Cora recalled.

"I could rig up pulse beacons as pattern enhancers," Scotty offered, "That'd get the signal out of the crater."

"Alright," Chekov nodded, it should work. On the Enterprise, the interference wouldn't be enough to block their teleport technology, but the Franklin was ancient, it just needed a little more of a boost.

"How many people can the Franklin transport at a time?" Kirk looked over at Scotty.

"Uh, with a wee bit of modification," Scotty considered it, "20? Max? But I'm not sure how long it would hold out."

Kirk nodded, letting out a breath as he began to draw up a battle strategy, "Bones, Mr. Chekov, Jaylah, Cora, you're with me on the away team. Mr. Scott, modify that transporter and then do everything you can to get this ship operational."

"Captain…" Spock began.

"Mr. Spock," Kirk sighed, turning to him, "Cora will be needed if the crew are weakened or injured. We don't know how many hostiles Krall has working for him and we'll need her to help sense them coming. I know she's your mate, but this is not up for negotiation."

Spock blinked, "Captain, Mr. Chekov's technical acumen makes him more valuable aboard the Franklin with Mr. Scott."

"Seriously?" Kirk stared at him, "THAT's the part you had an issue with?"

"Cora is more than capable of standing on her own," Spock defended his mate, recalling how she had stood against him a time or two before, when she felt her abilities would be needed and would not allow even his concern for her to keep her from protecting others. She had more than proven she could endure, and might even be on the path to use her abilities against a hostile if the situation called for it, when she'd faced Khan. Everyone underestimated her, that was always their downfall. But he knew her, he had seen her grow so much over the last near-eight years that he had known her. He had no doubts she would be able to handle this mission in the capacity Kirk intended, "My mate is strong and skilled, and she will have her crew to help her. She will have me."

"I don't recall putting you on the away team," Kirk reminded him.

"It is logical that I would replace Mr. Chekov on the team."

"Why is that logical Spock? You just got back on your feet."

"If my mate goes into that facility, Jim, I do too," he stated, not backing down about that, but also, at the same time, sounding like he was merely pointing out a fact, "You will need someone to keep guard while she and Dr. McCoy help any of the injured."

"I'll keep an eye on him," McCoy promised Kirk.

"We both shall," Cora agreed.

Kirk looked between the three of them, "Understood."

"But his soldiers are everywhere," Jaylah reminded them, "We won't pass unseen."

"What we require is a diversion," Spock reasoned.

Kirk looked around the room, before his gaze landed on the motorcycle in the corner, "I think I have an idea."

~8~

Spock reached out a hand to still Cora as she moved to follow Scotty, Chekov, and McCoy into the teleport room where they were going to ready the pads for Jaylah's signal. She looked up at him, her head tilted in question.

"I am sorry," he murmured to her now that they had a bit more privacy.

"For what?" she seemed genuinely confused. If he was speaking about his injury, it was not his fault and she very much doubted he intended to get hurt…

"I was not there," he explained, "I should have been. You did not deserve to endure the deaths of the crew alone."

Cora took a deep breath at the reminder of what she'd experienced when her pod had finally landed. She didn't have to ask how he knew about it, he had seen first hand how death around her affected her. It would only be logical to realize that some of the crew had died in Krall's initial attack and for that to turn to what it would mean for her. He had seen some of them, she assumed, lining the halls of the ship, she had as well. The fact that he remembered, that he felt so poorly to have not been there for her, meant much to her.

"I was not entirely alone," she offered, "James T. Kirk found me quickly enough. He attempted to help me push past the pain and let it run its course."

"I am glad he was successful," Spock spoke, "However, I cannot help but feel guilty that I was not there."

"It was not your fault, Spock," she reassured him, "It could not be helped."

Spock let out a breath at that, nodding. Logically he knew there was no way he could have been lost in the woods with her, not given the events that led up to he and McCoy ejecting themselves from the ship and then crashing. But he still could not stop himself wishing things had been different or trying to think of ways that he could have found her faster.

"I wish I had been there."

Cora smiled at his words, "You were," she told him, "You are always with me," she moved her hand to rest over her heart, looking for a moment as though she were going to touch her necklace before realizing it wasn't there and flattening her hand to her chest, "I can always feel my mate. And it was the thought of you that helped me endure."

"It was the thought of you that helped me endure as well," Spock told her, "When Leonard was tending to my wound, it was one of the more painful experiences I've had. But my mind turned to you in the aftermath and it was as though I did not feel the pain quite so sharply any longer."

Cora blinked, something about his words striking her as odd, "You were harmed by a piece of metal near your heart."

"Yes," Spock nodded.

Cora tilted her head in thought for a moment, she could not recall McCoy or Spock himself telling her that piece of information. Anyone might assume he'd been struck by an enemy weapon or had fallen and cut himself, but it was like she _knew_ what had harmed him. And yet he had not told her of it.

"When we have secured the crew and dealt with Krall," she began, looking up at him, "It appears we may have much more to discuss than before."

"Of course," he agreed, knowing they both did need to talk about the things they'd learned over their separation when there was more time. He gestured to the door to the teleport chamber, allowing her to step in before him, his hand falling to the small of her back as they entered.

"You sure you're up for this?" McCoy asked gruffly as he, Spock, and Cora took their places on the teleport pad of the Franklin.

Kirk's brilliant plan had been to ride the motorcycle into Krall's camp, with Jaylah on the back of it. If it all went to plan, he was going to drop off Jaylah just inside the camp and she would use one of the beacons that Scotty had rigged up for a location to beam them in to join her. Once they were in, she was going to cover Kirk while they focused on getting the crew out of there.

"I am well, Doctor," Spock answered, "You and Cora have done exceptionally."

"Yeah, yeah," McCoy muttered, "The second we're back at Yorktown I'm hauling your ass to medical for better treatment."

"If he feels the injury reopen, I will inform you, Leonard McCoy," Cora promised him.

They were all aware that Spock wouldn't speak a word about anything of the sort until the crew was safe once more. It wouldn't be a lie, it would be withholding the truth. Cora, at least, knew that for him to reopen his wound at this point could be dangerous for him and she would not risk his life for the mission nor, she was sure, would any of the crew want to jeopardize one of their rescuers either. If the worst came to it, she and McCoy could handle getting the crew out while beaming him back too. Kirk was meant to continue being a distraction and drawing fire, Jaylah picking off those firing. If it went well, then no one should notice them freeing the crew. Spock was coming for more protection and cover.

McCoy let out a breath and glanced over, "What about you, Red?"

Cora looked up, "I will be ready."

And she would be. It took doing, more than it should, to draw up the more negative or crippling emotions, like fear with Kalara. But preparing ahead of time, she would be able to use it at the base too. She was not tired, she had not over exerted herself by tending to Spock. The use of her abilities didn't tend to leave her feeling exhausted, only when the emotions were themselves the ones that would tax the body, such as pain or weariness. She had been very careful to avoid those emotions and while the escape from the ship had been taxing, as had being confronted with the remnant emotions from her crew and Spock, she felt she could at least muster this task. She was sure, once she was there, once the crew was around her once more, the energy and emotion off them would help give her a boost.

"Good," Scotty called over, "Cos I'm gettin' a signal from Jaylah right now."

The three of them looked at each other and nodded, positioning themselves on the teleport pad, McCoy and Spock on either side of Cora as they readied themselves with their phasers. They looked over at Scotty, giving him and Chekov a nod before they were beamed out.

They appeared crouched down behind Jaylah just at the edge of the base. There were a series of structures with flat roofs, circular in appearance, with rocks around them. They could see Kirk already within the base, just starting the diversion, using some tech Jaylah had provided him with to duplicate himself so there were dozens of Kirks riding all around the base to draw fire.

"This way," Jaylah murmured, starting to creep along the walls of the enclosure, heading in the same direction Cora could feel the emotions of her crew coming from. They ducked low when Kirk began to stream a cloud of the brown gas that had trapped him and Chekov earlier, giving them more cover when the gas hardened into a wall.

"I've got to admit," McCoy muttered as they crouched below a series of rocks, "That's a hell of a distraction."

"Your friends are over there," Jaylah pointed over to the side, before she got up to head in her own direction to continue with her part in this plan, giving Kirk more cover.

"This way," Cora whispered to the two men, turning to lead them herself, able to sense if there were any hostiles ahead of them.

They managed to reach the part of the base where the others were being held, any hostiles who might have been in their way quickly drawn into the fray with Kirk as Jaylah began to fire at them too, drawing more and more out. But the sound of the firing was nearly drowned out when the crew caught sight of them through the gate holding them in, letting out cheers and calls as they rushed over.

"I've got it," McCoy moved forward, aiming his phaser to break the lock while Spock kept watch for any enemies that might try to fire at them from a distance.

Cora watched as Kirk continued to distract their enemies anxiously, she knew he didn't want her with him to engage the enemy herself due to the proximity it would have her to being fired at, the risk it would put her for getting injured. Anesthesia and other chemicals to knock someone out or dull pain were useless on Empathics, so the crew was always very careful to try and keep her from being harmed in a physical sense. If she was on the back of that bike to try and knock out their enemies, it would be difficult to put that much focus while driving every which way. And she also knew that he wanted her to focus on helping the crew if any needed more strength to get back to the Franklin.

"They took her," she heard Sulu speaking as she turned back to her crew, moving to help them out of the pen when Sulu reported one missing, "Uhura, they took her," he nodded past them, back the way they'd come, towards another base.

"Damn it," McCoy muttered, looking at Spock and Cora before making the decision, "Get the rest of the crew to the Franklin," he ordered, before going after her himself. Spock was still injured and he wasn't about to send Cora out there alone. ONE of them had to go after her and, from what he'd glimpsed, none of the crew looked fatally injured, Cora would be able to handle any weaker pains.

"Understood," Spock replied as the man ran off.

"Come, quickly," Cora returned to helping the crew out, making sure to touch each one on the shoulder or arm as they passed to give them a boost of relief, courage, and strength just to be safe.

"Over here," Spock led them to a flat area and pressing the beacon Scotty had rigged up into Sulu's hand, "Press this and Mr. Scott will be able to determine the specific coordinates to beam them out. Only 20 at a time. Cora and I will keep cover."

Sulu nodded, gathering 20 of the crew over to a flat area, "Stay in the circle," he told them, pressing the button and stepping back as they were beamed out.

Cora gasped and looked back, feeling a spike of pain and fear strike her. She doubted that one of the hostiles would feel such a thing, she feared for a moment that it was McCoy or Uhura, but the signature behind the emotion wasn't one she was used to feeling from her crew. Her gaze flew up above them.

"Jaylah!" Cora breathed, seeing that Jaylah had been discovered by an alien and was being attacked.

Spock reacted instantly to her call, turning and firing his phaser in the direction of the alien who had kicked her off the top of one base, forcing her to roll down to a lower level. But the alien had already jumped after her, avoiding Spock's blast.

"Next group!" Sulu called, teleporting another round of the crew.

Cora glanced between where Jaylah had disappeared within one of the base structures, and to her crew as Sulu continued to try and evacuate them.

He was doing a commendable job. Between Kirk distracting the guards and herself and Spock keeping watch and acting as defense, the crew was making great headway in escaping. By the time the next group had positioned themselves, the transport would be recharged enough to get them out.

But Cora wouldn't lie and say she was not nervous for the others. Jaylah was facing a man she could only assume was Manas on her own and in an area where they couldn't see her or help her. Kirk was driving around as the other hostiles picked off his duplicates one by one and it was only a matter of time before they got to the last him. And McCoy and Uhura were somewhere else, on their way here judging by how she could sense their emotions growing closer, but still out of sight.

"I believe this will be the last set Mr. Sulu," Spock spoke, pulling Cora's attention back. She had been keeping her senses open in case any of the crew needed her help, but they all appeared a mixture of relief and eagerness to escape. They knew they would be safe momentarily and it was allowing them to keep their calm better though she was still sure to add to their sense of security.

"We are ready for the last transport, Montgomery Scotty," Cora called into the comm. she was gripping in her hands.

"Aye, Lass," Scotty replied back, "Ten seconds until the transporter's recharged, then you're good to go."

Spock reached out a hand to turn Cora to the last few of the crew, calling out to Sulu, "Wait for my signal."

"We cannot leave without the others," Cora warned as they gathered together, not about to run to the transport location until they were all together.

Kirk and Jaylah should be ok, they both had their beacons with them, if anything grew to be too much, they would be able to beam out.

"Agreed," Spock looked around, "Can you sense them?"

Cora nodded, "They are close…there!" she pointed, seeing Uhura and McCoy coming around a corner and heading towards them, though they were being fired upon by other hostiles.

"Go," he urged the others, opening fire with his phaser to give them more cover until they could reach the group.

"Move!" McCoy shouted as he passed Spock, pushing the man towards the others along with him, "Come on!"

Just as they reached the pad, Kirk flew over them on the bike, circling them with the brown gas to give them more cover now that the attention had been drawn to them. It was just enough for them to beam out safely and back onto the Franklin.

"James T. Kirk and Jaylah are still at the base," Cora told Scotty as she rushed over to them.

"Aye, Lassie, I'm on it," Scotty told her, bringing up the comm. that he'd given Kirk and Jaylah along with their beacons, "We're ready for you next, Captain. Just turn on your beacon."

"Scotty, do you have everybody?" Kirk called back.

"Aye, sir. Everyone except you and Jaylah. Hit the beacon and we'll grab you."

They waited, listening intently for any communication from Kirk or Jaylah, but there was nothing. Scotty frowned as he looked at the readings from the scanners, none of the instruments reading any sign of the beacons and he couldn't help but feel like what he'd feared had come to. The systems were dying on him and they'd have no way to get to Kirk or Jaylah.

"Captain, your beacon!" he called through the comm., hoping that it was just that Kirk and Jaylah hadn't activated them yet. He looked at Cora, "Lassie…"

"James T. Kirk is alive," Cora reassured them, not having felt the pinprick disappear, "I believe Jaylah is as well."

Cora looked around at that, at the crew as they left the room, heading out after McCoy to be examined quickly for any injuries and to check the ship. She frowned, reaching out to Uhura and Sulu as they encouraged the others off, "Where is Ensign Syl?" she asked them, she had not noticed the woman among those teleported yet they had reported that everyone had been secured.

Sulu and Uhura looked at each other for that, before Sulu squared his shoulders, "Krall tested the artifact on her."

Cora let out a breath, "She was among the fallen."

"This was all that was left of her," Uhura reached into a pocket of her uniform and held out a necklace with a teal blue pendant on the end, "I know it belongs to you."

"Yes," Cora reached out to take it back, "It is what helped us find you."

Spock could only watch as Cora lightly touched the amulet, sorrow clear on her face for the fate of Ensign Syl. He reached out to take it from her, moving to put it around her neck once more, resting his hand on the back of her neck in comfort.

"There it is!" Chekov shouted suddenly, pointing at the monitors as they picked something up.

"Energize!" Scotty called, activating the teleport. The crew that had remained in the room, herself, Spock, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, and Chekov looked over to watch as Kirk and Jaylah appeared to beam in mid-air before falling down onto the pad.

Cora winced, feeling the jolt of pain from them both when they hit the ground.

"Ok..." Kirk groaned, "Let's never do that again."

"I agree James T.," Jaylah winced as she pushed herself up.

"Please, I am _begging_ you, call me Jim, please," Kirk huffed, if he had another person on board the ship calling him by his full name, he was going to go mad.

"I will, Jim Please."

"No, Jaylah, just Jim."

"Ok, Just Jim."

Kirk looked at her, honestly not sure if she was toying with him or genuinely being serious about his name, "Jim."

"Jim," Jaylah repeated with a firm nod.

"Thank god," he muttered under his breath as they cleared the teleport pad. Now he just had to get Cora to…oh, that wouldn't really matter much would it? If he left for the vice admiral position, it wouldn't matter what Cora called her captain, because it wouldn't be him.

"You alright?" Sulu called as he and the others rushed over.

"Captain!" Uhura began quickly, "This thing he has..."

"The bio-weapon?" Cora offered when Uhura seemed at loss for what to call it.

"How do you…"

"Kalara told us the truth," Cora replied, "With some persuasion. Krall means to target Starfleet bases and…"

"Yorktown," Sulu cut in, "He's gonna destroy Yorktown first."

The crew looked at each other for that, alarmed.

Jaylah stepped up, looking to Kirk, "You take my house and you make it fly."

Kirk nodded, "Scotty, can you get this thing started?" he asked as he began to head out of the teleport room and towards the Bridge.

"Started, yes," Scotty called as he rushed after them, "Flying, sir, that's a different thing. These old vessels, they were built in space. They were never supposed to take off from atmosphere."

"Make it happen."

"They're called starships for a _reason_ , Captain."

"You're telling me this now?"

"Because I didn't want to disappoint you, you know, in case you didn't make it back."

"How thoughtful, Mr. Scott," Kirk rolled his eyes as they reached the Bridge.

Cora stopped short, looking through the main window, her hands coming to her mouth in alarm. Spock glanced from her to the window, stiffening when he saw what had caused such a reaction. Krall's ship was launching, his swarm-like force spiraling up after the ship like a twister.

"Captain," Spock called out, drawing the others' attention to the swarm.

"He's launching," Kirk breathed.

"The attack on Yorktown may be just the beginning," Spock warned, thinking about what the amulet had revealed. Ensign Syl, there was nothing left of her but the amulet. It was logical to assume this bio-weapon had destroyed her flesh and clothing, but not the metal of the amulet. Which meant that Krall may intend to use it to empty Yorktown, but not to destroy it entirely, the metals and tech would still be accessible to him, "Armed with this bio-weapon, he could rid it of all life and use the base's advanced technology to attack an untold number of Federation planets."

Kirk let out a breath, he hadn't even thought of the tech on the base, just that the bio-weapon could be used on the people. But Spock was right, it would be entirely possible to wage war from the base if they didn't stop Krall first, "Then we're just gonna have to get this thing flying."

"We cannae just jumpstart it, sir!" Scotty huffed, but Kirk just gave him a smirk.

"I believe Captain Kirk has a plan," Cora remarked to Scotty quietly, feeling an immense amount of smugness radiating off him and it wasn't just from the fact that she could call him 'captain' once again now that he had a ship and a crew.

"Yeah," Scotty sighed, "That's what I'm afraid of."

~8~

Cora took a deep breath as Spock checked the straps of the chair she'd claimed on the Bridge, making sure they were secure given how old they were. He nodded his head and moved onto the seat nearest to her, strapping himself in as well. Everyone throughout the ship were being given the order to strap in as they prepared for takeoff.

Or as they prepared to _attempt_ to take off. Not a single one of them knew if this would work. Kirk had even gone so far as to offer any of the crew that wanted off the chance, promising them a return trip to rescue them once they had (hopefully) stopped Krall. None of the crew had taken it.

"Ok!" Chekov cheered over the comms., "All systems online. Dilithium chambers at 70% and climbing. Primary support engines standing by."

"Mr. Sulu," Kirk began as he leaned in to speak to the man stationed at the pilot's chair, "You _can,_ you know, fly this thing right?"

Cora had to smile when Sulu turned to give him an incredulous, and almost offended, look over his shoulder, "You kidding me, sir?"

"Fantastic," Kirk nodded, leaning back in the chair and opening the comms., "Scotty, how we looking?"

"Ready as she'll ever be, sir," his voice replied.

"That's what I like to hear. Alright. Bones, where are we with the crew?"

"I could use a functioning med-bay," McCoy complained, "But otherwise we're secure down here."

"Cora?" Kirk called out.

"The Bridge is secured, Captain Kirk," she reported, having made sure everyone was strapped in before she allowed Spock to assist her.

"Mr. Sulu," Chekov looked to the man, "We hawe to achieve terminal welocity in order for ze stabilizers to prowide lift. Are you sure zis drop is high enough to do zat?"

"We'll find out," Sulu murmured as the ship began to power up around them.

"Cora," Kirk called out, "Maintain the calm, god knows we're going to need it."

"Yes, Captain Kirk," she agreed.

"Call it, Mr. Sulu," Kirk gave the order.

"Aye-aye, Captain," Sulu readied himself, "Mr. Chekov, be ready to hit the forward stabilizers full on my mark. One quarter impulse."

" Aye," Chekov began to fire the thrusters, the entire ship shaking around them.

Cora gasped for a moment when one of the devices Jaylah had been using to keep the ship hidden fell from the shaking, flying past the window of the Bridge. It was a good thing Krall had taken all his forces with him, for the ship was sure to be visible now. She took a breath and closed her eyes, knowing if she was startled by the shaking, the rest of the crew would be as well. She began to bring up the calm within her, spreading it out through the Bridge as she felt them grow the most tense as they had the better view of what they would be facing in trying to take off.

She tried to do one better. The Franklin was not a large ship, not compared to the Enterprise, she could feel the rest of the crew closer to her. She tried to spread the calm out more, farther, wanting it to reach those without a view of what was coming, so they wouldn't be frightened.

"One half impulse, Mr. Chekov," Sulu called out.

"Aye," Chekov replied as the shaking got worse.

"Easy, Mr. Sulu," Kirk warned them, "Let's not break her in half," he took a breath, feeling calm fill him even as they saw the ship begin to approach the end of the cliff it rested on, hanging over it precariously. He should be frightened when they tipped forward to fall off, they were freefalling, if he was wrong about this, they could almost certainly fall to their deaths. He _should_ be terrified, but Cora was doing her job, he felt a stillness and a calmness, a reassurance that everything would be alright.

And if he _was_ wrong, that would be what he wanted his crew to feel right to the end, that it would be ok.

He nodded to himself, "Any time, Mr. Sulu."

But Sulu made no move to take the ship up, watching the velocity on the screen intently instead of the looming bottom of the cliff. The moment it reached terminal, he shouted out, "Now, Mr. Chekov!"

Chekov pulled a lever back and the ship soared!

They dipped low, but the speed worked in their favor, sending them pitching over the trees and heading for the sky, hitting a few rocks along the way, but easily breaking through the atmosphere.

Cora inhaled deeply as she opened her eyes, feeling an exuberance that wasn't something from her and smiled, laughing happily, when she saw they had reached the stars once more.

A/N: The crew is safe! :D Poor Syl though :'( She didn't deserve what happened to her :'(

But lol, Kirk and Jaylah :) I honestly could see Jaylah mistaking his requests as his actual name :) And Spock and Cora! They just keep racking up the topics to talk about don't they? But at least we'll get a really meaningful conversation out of them ;)

And, just to note, a few chapters back I snuck in some lines inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune/1984 movie. The lines were in reference to heading into the trap. "The first step in avoiding a trap is knowing of its existence." "But, if it is a trap, then why are we going?" and then a bit of an allusion to another quote "A human would remain in the trap, endure the pain, feigning death that he might kill the trapper and remove a threat to his kind" with Kirk's response that if they don't deal with it, someone else could get trapped instead :)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I can admit I don't think I could ever do away with Spock's ears on a child, especially not when Cora considers them to be cute ;) I can also picture either Cora's eyes or hair because those are the noticeable features of her people :) I saw that scene too, it was adorable, she loved the ears too :D

We'll have to see if a Chekov/OC jumps out at me one day ;) I agree, it's not just about how much Cora's grown, I tried to show how Spock has grown too in his comfort around Cora :)


	8. Saving Yorktown, Part One

Saving Yorktown, Part One

Once they were safely in space, Cora unstrapped herself from the chair, not a fan of being restrained by anything longer than was necessary. With their escape from the planet, she could feel the joy of the crew, the reaffirmed confidence that they could overcome any odd so long as they were together. She looked to the main window, seeing they were heading right for the nebula, but if the ship could survive their escape from Altamid, she was certain the pilots could get them through the nebula as well.

Though it was a nearly silent process, no one wanting to distract anyone until they were finally out and past the rocks.

As soon as they were though, the comms. kicked in and what they heard was not anything good.

"I'm picking up distress signals from every frequency coming from Yorktown!" Uhura reported from the side of the room, "Krall's already started his attack."

Kirk grit his teeth, they may not have been able to follow Krall instantly, but for the distress call to still be sounding meant that there was still a Yorktown to send it, "Mr. Scott," he opened the comms., "What kind of weapons do we have?"

"Uh, we have pulsed phase cannons and spatial torpedoes," Scotty reported.

"Great. Lock and load."

"It does not matter," Jaylah insisted from where she was still strapped to her chair, "You cannot defeat the bees."

"They did not appear easily destroyed the first time," Cora had to agree, subtly reminding Kirk of their original plan to enter the trap with caution. Their weapons had been far more advanced then and the swarm had still managed to destroy their ship, they couldn't afford the same thing happening to this one or all would be lost.

Kirk considered and realized that, "Maybe, uh, maybe we lure them away," he altered the plan, "How do we get Yorktown time to get people to safety?"

"No," Sulu shook his head, assuming Kirk meant to use them as bait, "We are a horse and buggy compared to those things. We're barely holding together as it is, Captain."

"What are bees?" Cora asked, looking to Jaylah. She had never encountered bees before, they were not native to Hestia or the Academy bases, or at least they were not from what she had encountered. Was that what Krall's swarm were called? If Jaylah knew anything else about them, perhaps it could help them find a weakness.

Spock, however, seemed to realize something else from her words, exactly how the swarm compared to the way bees worked, "Captain, the flight patterns of bees are determined by individual decisions. Krall's swarm formations are too complex not to rely on some form of unified cyberpathic coordination. I surmise that if we..."

"Spock!" Kirk cut in, "Skip to the end."

"What he's saying is that if we disorient the swarm we can kick its ass!" Uhura translated, knowing that even a simplified explanation from Spock could sometimes be long-winded.

"Precisely," Spock agreed.

"Scotty," Kirk called on the comms. once more, "Can you beam me onto one of those swarm ships?"

"Have you gone completely mad?" Scotty demanded.

"Yes or no?"

"No! …yes! Maybe."

"Captain," Spock spoke up, "My familiarity of the interior of those ships, however brief, makes me more qualified for this away mission."

"You would be out of range for me to help you," Cora reminded him gently. She seemed to have developed a wider range when it came to assisting Spock, able to sense and send emotions more when it related to him. But she was sure, with him in another ship and flying in all directions, it would be harder to help numb the pain in his side. It could come back and distract him, "You will begin to hurt."

"She's right Spock," Kirk agreed, "You're still injured."

"I acknowledge and respect your concerns," Spock looked between the two of them, "Perhaps you would feel more confident if I were accompanied by someone with familiarity of both the ship and my injury."

"But that would be Leonard McCoy," Cora spoke, "I do not believe he would like such an option."

Kirk began to smirk at her words, "Oh, he's not gonna like this," he agreed, "He's gonna _love_ this."

Cora just frowned, "I do not believe that is the word I would use."

~8~

Cora looked over from where she was attending to Spock, trying to numb his side a little more, hoping the effects could last longer with extra effort. They didn't know how active Spock might be once they were beamed onto another ship, but she hoped it would be nothing too strenuous. Still, she was not about to not take as many precautions as she could manage.

She could steadily feel McCoy growing more incredulous and irate as Kirk explained the new mission to him as they stood in the teleport room with Scotty at the controls.

"You want me to do _what_?" McCoy demanded.

Cora sent a tendril of reassurance over to him, which only caused him to let out a breath of air in a huff.

"Come along, Doctor," Spock spoke as he headed for the teleport pad.

"Whoa!" McCoy shook his head, "Wait a minute…" he looked between Kirk and Spock, working something out, "Why you green-blooded ingrate. This was _your_ idea!"

There was no way in hell that Cora had suggested Spock beam onto a swarm ship given his injuries. And there was no chance Kirk would have even thought to include HIM along with this. Spock was the one who would see it as 'only logical' that someone who had been on the ship and helped with his injury would go with him. Because he knew neither of them would have wanted him to go alone.

"It's a good idea, Bones," Kirk defended.

McCoy just shot him a glare, before stepping onto the pad with Spock, "You know," he told the Vulcan, "Next time you have a piece of pipe stuck in your transverse, call a plumber."

"That is why you must go with him," Cora pointed out, "The wound has not completely healed and if it were to reopen…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," McCoy cut in with a minor grumble.

Cora just gave him a smile, "Many thanks, Leonard McCoy."

McCoy shook his head, "You're lucky I like you, Red."

She tilted her head, "You like Spock as well," she stated, sensing it off him, causing Spock to smirk, "Not in the same manner I do, but you have a tremendous respect for him and care about his well being as a friend and crew."

Kirk nearly burst out laughing at the horrified expression on McCoy's face at her words. No one but Cora would have been able to gather that from the man's expression, stance, or words. He'd been standing so gruffly, as irritated as anything, and looking like he'd rather murder Spock than heal him. And Cora had seen right through it to the heart of him.

"Good work, Cor," Kirk smirked as he patted Cora's shoulder, before focusing on the two men ready to teleport, "Just make sure you find a way to break those things."

"If it gets hairy, I'll beam you straight back," Scotty offered, the man not hiding his amusement with the situation as well as Kirk was.

"I wish you the greatest of fortune," Cora spoke.

Spock nodded his thanks before calling out, "Energize."

Kirk turned to go, calling back over his shoulder, "You're gonna do great!" as he left.

"Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor not a f..." McCoy was cut off suddenly as they were beamed off the Franklin and right onto an enemy swarm ship.

He and Spock turned quickly, pressing down on two levers to open part of the ship and eject the enemy within. As soon as the doors sealed shut again, he ran to the controls, getting on them once more.

"You _do_ realize the last time I flew one of these things we crashed," he huffed at Spock as the Vulcan moved over to a monitor and began to tap on it, "So don't blame me if we..." he winced as the ship slammed into another one, "Hit something."

"Spock to Franklin," the Vulcan ignored him to call into the comm. he'd managed to hack into.

"Spock, we read you," Kirk called back.

"Are you both well?" they could hear Cora ask.

"We're alive," McCoy replied, "And Spock's in one piece for now."

"Captain," Spock continued, "From what I can ascertain the ships do, indeed, share a cyberpathic link which coordinates their actions. Patching it through now."

~8~

On the Bridge of the Franklin, the crew looked up, hearing an odd noise over the comm.. Though it was a noise familiar to one of them.

"That's what that signal was," Uhura realized, it was the sound she had assumed was the enemy jamming the comms. just before the initial attack, "They weren't jamming us, they were talking to each other."

"Well, how do we get them to stop talking?" Kirk looked around for suggestions.

"What about electromagnetic focusing?" Scotty asked, "We could use the transporters disrupt their network."

"The focus might be too specific," Spock replied over the comm., "If we could plant some sort of disruptive communication signal inside the swarm, it might adversely affect their capacity to coordinate."

"It would hawe to be at a frequency zey will not anticipate," Chekov agreed.

"We could cause a chain reaction that would wipe out the whole swarm!" Sulu realized.

"Sir, a closed network like that might be susceptible to very high frequency," Spock added.

"VHF," Kirk murmured, "Radio!" he looked at the crew, "We can broadcast something from the ship to drown out their link. Something loud and distracting."

Scotty perked up at that, "Loud and distracting? I've got just that thing!"

~8~

Cora watched in curiosity as Scotty put something down on top of one of the back consoles, a rectangular device with small speakers on either side of it.

"Do not break my music!" Jaylah warned him as he began to pull wires out from the back of it.

"Break it?" Scotty grinned, "You're getting an upgrade!" and ducked down under the console to rip out more wires, working quickly to try and connect them to each other.

Cora looked over at where they could now see Yorktown base in the distance, making sure to keep the calm on the Bridge going. Sulu especially she was adding extra reassurance to. As far as she knew, he was the only crew who had family on that base, visiting him so they could spend time together. He, of all of them, would be most concerned and fearful for the fate of the base. And, as pilot, it was even more imperative that he be calm and collected.

She had seen how humans could sometimes react when desperation was strong, when anger or vengeance struck them. If anything happened to the base, Sulu would need to be watched to ensure he didn't react and try to attack Krall with the ship himself.

"Swarm ships are 60 seconds from breaking through!" Sulu reported to the crew.

"I've just got to reconfigure the VHF output into a multiphasic sweep," Scotty's muffled voice called from under the back console, though it was clear he was struggling to do just that.

"Let me do it," Jaylah offered.

"Ah, Lassie…"

"Let her do it," Uhura insisted when Scotty wasn't quite able to get it.

A moment later there was a spark under the console that had Scotty yelping and scrambling out, "You do it," he told Jaylah, not about to risk being electrocuted twice.

Jaylah nodded and crouched down, managing it in a few simple steps, standing up and pushing down a final lock, "There, see? Simple."

"Alright," Scotty nodded, "Captain, we're ready to broadcast."

"But the signal won't travel far," Uhura warned, "We have to get closer."

"How close?" Kirk frowned.

"Very."

Kirk nodded, "Cora?"

"Yes, Captain Kirk," Cora nodded, understanding what he needed her to do without him asking. If they were about to head towards the swarm, it would be an unnerving experience.

"Mr. Sulu," he called out, heading back to his chair, "Intercept course. Put us right in the middle of that thing."

"Yes, sir," Sulu agreed, the crew getting ready and bracing themselves in chairs and against equipment.

"Ze swarm ships are doubling back!" Chekov reported, it appeared that the ships had realized a new threat was heading for them and were dividing forces to try and take them out once more, "Zey are forming an attack wave, sir."

"I think we got their attention," Kirk sighed, "Hold steady, Mr. Sulu. Brace yourselves, everybody. Spock, stand by to drop out of formation. Scotty, you all cued up back there?"

"Aye, sir!" Scotty called as Jaylah set up the box.

"Ready to broadcast at 57.7 megahertz," Uhura added.

Scotty looked over at Jaylah, "Made your choice, lassie?"

Jaylah nodded, "I have the beat and shouting."

Cora could only watch on as the swarm seemed to spread, opening as though a giant mouth and heading right for them.

"Let's make some noise," Kirk gave the order.

Jaylah quickly hit a button, and a loud music began to play out of the speakers, not just broadcast out to the swarm, but filling the room as well.

Cora winced, her hands flying up to her ears as she closed her eyes tightly shut as it grew louder and more complicated.

"That's a good choice," Kirk remarked as they flew right at the swarm.

"It is very loud and distracting!" Cora agreed, shouting over the music, just barely managing to keep the emotion stable in the Bridge despite how the music was starting to hurt her head and shake her body from the beating of it, "Are you certain this is music?!"

Spock would sometimes play music in their room, not often, they were both people who preferred quiet and peace than loud noises. But there would be a time or two where he would hear a piece through another crew member playing it and find it agreeable to his tastes. He would play it for her to see how she felt about it. They were usually very soft pieces, calm if she had to describe it another way.

This did not sound anything like that music.

It sounded more like a battle going on, with people yelling at each other and, what she'd heard humans call, the 'drums of war' sounding.

"It's working!" Chekov shouted with a whoop.

Cora forced her eyes open, able to see that they had flown right into the middle of the swarm, but none of the little 'bees' were able to touch the ship. They were bursting into flames before they could get that close. This mission certainly wasn't making it easy for her to keep the calm when, at every turn, the ship encountered something else terrifying to witness, like massive fireballs exploding around them while the ship flew into the inferno.

~8~

"Faster, Doctor," Spock called out to McCoy as they raced through space in the ship, seeing the massive fireball behind them, "We risk being consumed by their trajectorial decay."

"Damn backseat driver," McCoy muttered.

Spock's eyes widened when he saw another ship appear on the monitor, "Evade, Doctor!"

"I see it, I see it!" McCoy grumbled, twisting the ship to the side and evading another crash but also managing to break away from the swarm enough to escape the fireball catching up to them. He frowned though when he heard the music start to reach their comms., "Is that classical music?"

Spock considered it, "Yes, Doctor, it would seem to be."

McCoy looked over, hearing an odd tone in his voice, to see Spock almost seemed a cross between fond and amused, "What?"

"It is nothing."

"Spock, it's just the two of us here, and I think I'd rather hear you talk than listen to this garbage," McCoy told him. It wasn't that it was bad music, it was just not his favorite genre.

"I was merely considering what Cora would think of this music."

"Oh?"

"Indeed, she is probably very displeased," he murmured, thinking on Cora. It was almost like he could feel her displeasure himself, he knew her reactions to various forms of music.

"I take it she's not a rock fan?"

"No. She prefers the softer variety of sound."

If he had to pick a specific genre, he wasn't sure he could. There were sounds Cora appreciated more than others, but those sounds were not what most would deem to be 'music.' She was fond of what others would call 'nature sounds,' something as simple as crickets chirping or wind rustling through trees. She didn't know why it spoke to her more than others, it just made her feel peaceful.

He was of the opinion that it might be a remnant of her Empathic nature, some instinctual notion from before the Mas'heirs had invaded and subjugated her people. From what he understood, they had been very nature based, Hestia like what humans would call an 'Eden' of flora and fauna. It was nothing of the sort now, Cora had never seen her planet the way it was depicted in very old pieces of art, green and bountiful. So there should have been no reason for the sounds to comfort her the way they did, given she had never heard them on her planet and they did not remind her of sounds she did hear there. That was merely his thought on it.

"She must be having kittens right now, then," McCoy muttered.

Spock frowned and looked back at him over his shoulder, "Why would Cora be birthing or gathering feline offspring, Doctor? Especially at a time like this?"

McCoy rolled his eyes at how offended Spock sounded at the first part, "Turn of phrase, Spock. She ain't gonna be pleased, is all."

"Oh," he nodded, turning back to the monitor, "No, she will not."

~8~

"Is it almost over?!" Cora shouted, perhaps louder than she should have. But between the music blaring and how she was covering her ears, she honestly wasn't sure who could hear her or if anyone could.

"Just a little longer, Cor," Kirk called back to her.

"What?!" she yelled. She had seen him turn in his seat, half facing her, and to say something she knew was directed at her, but the angle hadn't been enough for her to tell what exactly he said.

In response, he held up a single finger to tell her another minute or two, before he turned in the opposite direction to where Uhura was, "Lieutenant Uhura, make sure Yorktown has the frequency to broadcast."

"Yes, sir," Uhura nodded, getting to work to transfer the frequency to the base.

They all stared out the window of the base, watching intently for any sign that Yorktown had heard them, that their call had gotten through to them. When suddenly an even larger fireball went off across the sphere of the base. They had been able to make out the swarm ships trying to launch themselves at the glass of the dome, trying to break through it, but now it was like they were bursting into flames moments before they could hit.

It was working!

All across the base, a wave of flames spread out, taking out the rest of the swarm.

"Scotty!" Kirk called over to the man, who turned down the music. Now that Yorktown had the frequency and the music, they could set their own volume and take out the rest of the swarm. He smiled at the sight, and looked back, "You alright, Cor?"

But Cora was sitting there with her eyes closed, her hands still over her ears.

He chuckled only slightly as he stood and made his way over, putting a hand on her shoulder for a moment before he reached out to grab her wrists gently, prying her hands away from her ears. It took a moment before Cora peeked her right eye open, glancing up at him.

"It is over?" she asked, though she was still tense, as though this might just be a calm point in the song and she would need to cover her ears once again.

"The swarm's taken care of," Kirk agreed, giving her wrists a light squeeze and letting go.

Cora let out a relieved breath, finally relaxing and lowering her hands, "If I may request that we never do that again, Captain Kirk?"

"I'll work on it," he promised her with a smile.

She inhaled deeply, nodding, "Are Spock and Leonard McCoy safe?"

"Let's find out," he murmured, before turning back to the chair and activating the comm., "You two alright, Spock?"

"We are fine, Captain," Spock's voice replied, "Is the crew…"

"Cora's fine," Kirk cut in, knowing that was what Spock would really want to know first, "The rest of us are fine too."

"Thank you, Captain. I should inform you, though, that there are still three ships heading into Yorktown."

"It could not be the swarm," Cora reasoned, "The frequency has destroyed them."

"It's gotta be Krall," Kirk sighed, "Probably two other swarm ships too. Keep on him, Spock," he called out, "Do whatever it takes to stop him from using that weapon."

"Sir!" Sulu called.

Kirk turned around to see they were heading right for Yorktown. They could see three ships had just reached the edge of the base, and smashed through the closed port where ships usually entered. Another swarm ship followed close after, it had to be Spock and McCoy.

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Kirk called out, moving back to his chair, "Scotty, Jaylah, get to engineering!" he ordered as the two ran out, knowing that such an impact would undoubtedly strain the ship.

Sulu drove the Franklin right through the small port too, breaking off parts of it and scraping the edges as they tried to push through the mechanisms after the much smaller swarm ships. It was a violent jostling within the ship, though the crew remained level-headed and calm with Cora's assistance, focused and ready.

"My house is breaking!" Jahlah's voice came over the comms..

"Scotty, report!" Kirk shouted.

"We've lost the polarization of the hull plating!" Scotty replied, "I can reroute the power from the dilithium chambers."

Cora gasped suddenly when they saw the three ships in the distance suddenly rocket straight up. They could make out a series of crafts that had been flying at Krall's ship, flashing red and blue lights of the police force of Yorktown, trying to stop Krall's attack. But the man and his two swarm ships had evaded, moving through the waters that made up small streams that flowed through Yorktown. But then single swarm ship that had followed them kept right on their tail, shooting up after them.

The Franklin, though, was far too large to do the same and was stuck in the undertracks.

~8~

"Do not lose them, Doctor!" Spock called, watching on the monitor as Krall and his ships grew farther away.

"You're more than welcome to switch places with me, Spock!" McCoy grunted out as he pushed the ship to catch up to them, only to end up skidding a long a building when Krall and the ships suddenly went higher up.

"Captain," Spock called over the comm., "Intercepting all three ships is an impossibility."

~8~

"Get me a schematic of Yorktown," Kirk called out and Chekov quickly brought on up on the main screen. He looked at it intently, finally finding what he'd hoped to see, "There! Yorktown headquarters!"

"That is where they are heading," Cora agreed, the most effective way to use anything that affected other people was to be in the middle of them.

"We need to stop him getting there."

"Can we get ahead of them?" Uhura called.

"Perfect!" Kirk quickly thought of a plan, "Mr. Sulu, find the safest option that gets us in front of Krall's path."

Sulu nodded, already thinking of areas where they'd be able to bring up the ship without damaging too much of it or Yorktown, "Mr. Chekov, can you do a bioscan of Central Plaza?"

"Aye," Chekov quickly did so, "They are clearing civilians."

"That's where we can cut them off."

"Bones," Kirk called into the comm., "There's a city plaza coming up. You gotta make sure Krall heads for it."

"Why?" McCoy asked.

"Just do it!"

"Try to force them along the water," Cora added. If they were about to do what it appeared, then the nearer Krall was to the water they would emerge through, the better.

"Sulu, get us up there," Kirk ordered.

"Hold onto something!" Sulu warned, starting to force the ship faster and pull it up as soon as the water above them spread out.

It was bumpy and rocky, ships were not meant to come through into the base in such a way, but they managed it, as had McCoy done as instructed. For they arose from the water just after Krall's forces were forced to duck low towards the water, with little time to turn out of the way from the starship that had shot out.

There was a severe shaking, Cora quickly sending reassurance through as much of the ship as she could, when Krall and the two swarm ships crashed into the underside of the Franklin.

"Great work, Bones," Kirk breathed, seeing the ships were stuck and even able to see some of the Fleet officials running out of buildings and towards them to help.

"Thanks, Jim," McCoy muttered, "Now I've just got to figure out how to land…"

"Great work everyone," Kirk looked around, proud of his crew.

Unfortunately, the good feelings and the relief at having stopped Krall couldn't last.

"Captain," Chekov reported, "I hawe three hull breaches from ze impact. Deck 3, ze cargo bay, and ze engine room."

"Montgomery Scott, are you alright?" Cora moved over to the comm..

"Aye, lass, we're ok," Scotty called, "A bit stuck though."

Kirk nodded, "We're on our way to assist," he told the man, before looking over at the crew, "Alright, Sulu, Chekov, check the cargo bay and Deck 3. We need confirmation that the weapon has been neutralized and Krall is dead."

"I fear he may not be," Cora warned him, "I can sense the crew, but also another radiating anger and determination. It may be Krall."

It could be one of the two swarm ships though, she couldn't identify the specifics as she had not encountered Krall closely or long enough to determine it or match it to what she felt now.

"Move out," Kirk ordered the other two men, "Phasers ready."

"Yes, sir," Sulu nodded as he and Chekov hurried out.

"Uhura, Cora, you're with me," he continued, leading the way out of the Bridge and down to engineering.

Cora stopped short at the entrance to the mess room though, keeping them from continuing on. She felt something pass through her, felt something fade away, but felt a pain behind it. She hadn't realized she'd been running towards it, it was in the same direction as engineering. But now she knew, when she felt it disappear.

"What is it?" Uhura asked her, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder, seeing tears in the corner of Cora's eyes.

"He has killed more crew," Cora told them, moving straight into the room and leading them over to where one of the other crew members was lying on the floor, withered and looking as though he'd been drained of life.

"It's Krall," Uhura told them, "We've seen him do this. It's some kind of energy transference. It physically changes him."

"Then he's still on board," Kirk murmured, realizing their hope that the energy signature Cora had sensed was not one of Krall's minions, "We would have seen him leave. Cora?"

Cora took a breath and stepped back from the fallen crew, looking away and closing her eyes to concentrate. The emotion she'd been sensing had been in this area, but then she'd sensed the crew member dying and it had distracted her. She let out the breath, focusing…

She shook her head, "No," she looked at Kirk in alarm, "He is no longer on the ship."

"But how?" Kirk shook his head, "There's no way we missed an alien like him getting off!" he huffed, bringing up the comm. "Sulu, contact Yorktown security and lock down the ship," if they could get to engineering, because that was the only area Krall's ship could have been if the other two areas were secure, they might be able to follow his path into Yorktown, "Let's go."

"Captain," Uhura called just as Kirk had turned to go.

He and Cora looked over, seeing Uhura had been distracted by the monitor in the wall that was replaying the same footage of the crew as before. They moved over to it, watching as Uhura slowed down the feed and kept repeating a moment over and over, just at the end, trying to capture something.

A moment later they saw what she had, just as a crew member passed, a dark skinned man turned to face the camera, the captain of the Franklin.

"It's him," Uhura breathed, looking over her shoulder at them in alarm, "That's Krall."

Kirk stiffened as he stared at it, because it wasn't just Krall.

It was Captain Balthazar Edison.

A/N: Poor Cora, I can't imagine she's a fan of loud music lol. But also Spock! I'm now picturing him walking in on Cora sitting on the floor with a basket of kittens in front of her :) Lol, Bones, he's so horrified that his respect and genuine concern for Spock is now known by Kirk and Scotty (and Cora) too :)

But oh wow! Only two more chapters left O.O

Some notes on reviews...

I'm glad the bond between Cora and Spock came through :) I wanted to try and show how they've both grown over the last three years and how their bond has affected them :) As for the music, oh yes ;)

That's something I tried to allude to without making the Fleet seem awful. Empathics are SO useful, to the point where they eventually do sort of work out and repay the cost spent to get them in the first place. Just in terms of crew morale, keeping them from making rash decisions, their mental health, and dealing with enemies and so on. They sort of have a Vulcan-like effect in a way, by keeping a crew or captain calm they ensure that decisions made will be rational and not the result of an extreme emotion like anger or fear. They just sort of don't let on when the Empathic has 'paid back the debt' :(


	9. Saving Yorktown, Part Two

Saving Yorktown, Part Two

"Montgomery Scott!" Cora cheered as they were able to move some of the debris away from the door that had trapped Scotty and Jaylah, freeing them, "Jaylah! Are you well?"

She wasn't sensing any pain off of them, nothing that indicated they had been injured. They both seemed tense but also reassured and now very grateful for being freed.

"We're fine, Lassie," Scotty reassured her.

"Scotty," Kirk cut in, "I need you to link into the Franklin database. Find out what you can about Balthazar Edison."

They could have gone back to the Bridge for it, used one of the monitors there as not many others throughout the ship were in working order. But there were more crew on the Bridge than in engineering and if they were right, he didn't want to alarm anyone. He wanted to be sure before he informed Yorktown or anyone else. Cora had said he wasn't on the ship any longer, so they were safe for now, it was Yorktown they had to worry about.

That, and he needed access to the database, to the Captain's log. He needed to know what Edison's endgame was. WHY was he doing this? Why was he so keen to launch biological warfare on the Fleet? Edison had been a Starfleet captain, what had caused him to turn on the Federation the way he was? If there was any hope of understanding, it would be in the Captain's log, that would be where the man was most honest. And even if he wasn't, he was hoping that Cora might be able to gleam something, some emotion he wasn't revealing, that would help this all make sense.

"What, the captain of the Franklin?" Scotty asked even as he began to move over to a nearby monitor to access the ship's records.

"Yeah," Kirk replied.

"Sir, he'll be long dead."

"We have made a startling discovery that Captain Balthazar Edison is still alive," Cora informed him.

"What, how?!"

"No idea," Kirk sighed, "But somehow Edison is Krall," they watched as Scotty managed to hack into the records sifting through the crew.

"That is Kalara," Cora pointed out, when Scotty filtered past an image of Jessica Wolff, a woman whose face bore a striking similarity to Kalara's.

"Well, I'll be…" Scotty blinked, realizing it was true. He'd only caught a glimpse of the woman when they were heading back to the ship before he'd gone to Engineering.

"He is Manas," Jaylah added, when Scotty got a few more profiles in, to an Anderson Le.

"I don't think there were any others that survived," Uhura murmured, "There was just Kalara and Manas. The others all seemed to be the same species but serving under Krall."

"I'm not sure if I should be happy there were only three," Kirk began, "Or feel sorry for the man that he lost all of his crew but two."

Cora leaned over to whisper to him, though the others could clearly hear her, "You are feeling relieved there are no more."

"Yeah, thanks Cor, but that was rhetorical," Kirk pointed out.

"My apologies."

Kirk just waved it off, frowning when Scotty got to Edison's profile, "What'd you find?"

"Uh," Scotty squinted a bit as he read through it quickly, "Well, his record goes back way before the Federation even existed. He was a major in the United Earth Military Assault Command Operation. A lot of off-world combat…"

"He was a soldier."

"Aye, sir. And a pretty good one. His military service came to an end when MACO was disbanded."

"Why, what happened?"

"The Federation, sir," Scotty glanced back at him, "Starfleet."

"Starfleet is not a military agency and is not to engage or initiate war," Cora murmured, sounding as though she were recalling a lesson from the Academy, though there was an odd tone to her voice that had Uhura looking at her in concern, it sounded almost…regretful but that couldn't be the right word for it, Empathics were naturally peaceful people and were less likely to war than any other species in the galaxy. She wouldn't be saddened that the Fleet wasn't a war machine…

"Aye," Scotty agreed, "So they made him a captain and gave him the Franklin."

"Scotty, bring up his logs," Kirk added.

"Aye, sir."

A moment later the monitor flickered to reveal a very human looking Krall, Balthazar Edison as he once was, looking happy and proud and eager, "Captain's Log..."

Kirk shook his head, knowing the systems would start with the very first, "Last entry."

It was a stark difference from the first entry to the last, where Edison appeared very worn, weary, exhausted, and just broken down. He looked as though he'd been through hell, "Captain's Log...I don't remember the stardate," he huffed, sounding devoid of all care at all, "All distress calls unanswered. Of the crew, only three remain," Kirk let out a breath, Kalara, Manas, Krall, the only three crew, at least that was confirmed, "I won't allow it!" Edison suddenly shouted, before the image cut to him hunched over, looking somewhat determined but also angry, "The indigenous race abandoned this planet long ago. They left behind sophisticated mining equipment and a drone workforce. They have some sort of technology that prolongs life. I will do whatever it takes for me and my crew. The Federation do not care about us. You'll probably never see me again. But if you do…be ready."

"He is resentful," Cora spoke a moment later, thinking through all the emotions she'd seen displayed on his face, heard in his voice, noticed in his body language, "Angry, hurt, abandoned, desperate, fearful, determined, pained, hopeless, bitter, exhausted, weary and wary, vengeful, resentful. He believes the Fleet abandoned them when their calls went unheard through the nebula. He lost his crew, he would not lose any more of them."

"But then why was he so willing to kill ours?" Uhura wondered, recalling how the attack had caused them to lose some of their crew. She reached out to put a hand on Cora's shoulder when the girl flinched at the reminder.

"Why has he not used his weapon yet?" Jaylah added, if he had such a weapon and wanted revenge on the Fleet, why was the base still there?

"Cause he wants to find somewhere to inflict maximum damage," Kirk realized.

"He needs a distribution system," Uhura agreed.

"Will it be through air or water or infection?" Cora wondered out loud, looking up when the four of them turned to stare at her, "Leonard McCoy complains very vocally about the different ways infection can spread with each planet we send a landing party on."

Kirk probably would have laughed at that, how she was probably the only one who still paid attention to Bones and his paranoia about disease, but this was far too serious, and she was far too right, "Lieutenant, you saw the weapon in action?"

Uhura nodded, "From what I saw of it, it was an airborne weapon."

"And it only attacked organic matter?" Cora asked, in case it affected where Krall would release it, Uhura nodded.

"They have to circulate air here right?" Kirk looked to Scotty.

"Aye, sir," Scotty typed something in and quickly brought up the schematics of Yorktown, looking for just that, the largest center of air distribution, "There's an atmospheric regulator at the core."

Kirk let out a breath, "Lieutenant, contact Yorktown. Make sure they shut it down until we find Krall."

"Yes," Uhura hurried off to do just that.

"How would he access the core?" Kirk asked Scotty.

"Uh, well," he zoomed in on the blueprints, "There's a maintenance tower at the station's gravitational nexus. That's the only way."

"Scotty, you get over there. Make sure it gets shut down. Cora, you go with him, MAKE them shut it down if you have to."

"Captain Kirk," Cora reached out to grab his arm as he moved to leave, "I may be able to assist you more."

"Cora…"

"With such a present danger, Yorktown will do all that is necessary to stop the threat, I would be redundant with Montgomery Scotty. If the bio-weapon attacks organic matter, I may have a way to assist you, as a failsafe, should it be released."

"And how are you going to do that, Cor?"

"Flowers."

"What?"

Cora gave him a small, apologetic smile, "I cannot elaborate more, Captain Kirk. It is not the custom of Empathics to do so until we have spoken with our cherished one."

Kirk frowned, confused, "You can't tell me because you haven't told Spock about flowers?" she nodded that he was correct. He shook his head, he didn't have time to argue with her, if she said she could help, he'd just have to trust her. She wouldn't be disregarding an order from her captain if she didn't think she could truly help HIM with Krall, "Let's go."

~8~

Kirk held a hand out, helping Cora jump down from the ship after him. They ran across Yorktown, as fast as they could, heading for the core. It had taken some doing to get out, needing to make sure that Uhura's call had gone through while Scotty and Jaylah left the ship through a clear path from Engineering. They should have been in the control center of the base by now, Uhura's message had been received, the air system should have been down by now, but, looking up at the system, it was clearly still functioning.

"Get Scotty," Kirk called to Cora as they ran, him with a phaser, her with a comm., "Why isn't it off?!"

"Montgomery Scott," Cora called into the comm., "Captain Kirk requests to be informed as to why the regulator has not been shut down."

"We're working on it!" Scotty replied back, "But as you can imagine there's a lot of safety protocols surrounding the thing that, you know, keeps everybody alive."

"Figure something out!" Kirk shouted over to the comm..

"Captain Kirk," Cora shouted, continuing only when he turned to her, "I need to gather the yellow flowers," she pointed over to the side, seeing a small patch of what humans called 'sunflowers' a few feet away, "I will, as humans say, catch up."

Kirk shook his head, but kept running, not about to even stop to question it. He'd learned that Spock and Cora were odd in their own rights, just going with it seemed to work out in the end though. So he continued to run towards the building that would give him access to the core.

Cora could vaguely hear Scotty warning Kirk that the gravity would be off the closer he got to the center before he disappeared inside the building.

She did not like this, she did not like being so separated from everyone. Most of her crew were still on the Franklin or being taken to medical on the base, Spock and McCoy were trapped in an enemy ship, Scotty and Jaylah were rushing to the control center, and her captain was heading to face a terrible enemy. And she was running over to sunflowers.

She knew what each flower in the Enterprise garden was, she spoke to the crew that maintained it, curious as to what they were and what some did. The crew often would have to pollinate the flowers themselves so they would create new flowers. Almost all the flowers were like that, except the sunflowers. The sunflowers had seeds within themselves, had parts that allowed them to pollinate themselves. And that was what she needed, she needed the seeds, and she needed to know that, in the worst case, it could create more seeds.

She dropped to her knees beside the patch, reaching out to examine them, looking for the ones with the most seeds and plucking them. When she was sure she had enough, she moved to get to her feet again when a terrifying thought struck her.

Would she still be able to do what she had promised her captain?

The journey to Altamid had not been easy, nor had the aftermath of losing part of her crew, nor had the fleeing enemy fire or the takeoff from the planet.

Would she still be able to muster the same energy that had caused the buds to bloom on the Enterprise?

She swallowed hard, glancing at the core and back to the flowers. She needed to know, she needed to be certain now before she attempted this up there and failed. She took a breath and looked at one of the remaining sunflowers, one that still had a bud that hadn't opened and held a shaking hand over it.

Nothing happened.

She looked away a moment, shaking her head, this needed to work, and not just for her. She closed her eyes and tried to push past the anxiety and fear and concern she felt over the situation, tried to ignore the terror she could feel swelling within the base itself, to the emotions she'd felt on the Enterprise, to the curiosity and hope and peace…

She opened her eyes when she felt something brush along her palm.

The bud opened.

She didn't allow herself even a moment to process the reason behind it, just focused on the fact that it had worked, pushing herself up and running towards the same building as Kirk.

~8~

Cora had only just reached the top of the building, when she felt a flash of fear strike through her. She had rushed into a lift, the first one she saw when she ran into the building, taking it all the way to the top, as high up as it would go. She didn't know exactly where the hatch was that Krall was going to try and use, but she assumed it would be easy to find if she just went higher and higher.

She had certainly been frightened on the way up, worrying for her captain and what she would find when she made it to him. She had kept her comm. on the entire time, she had heard the struggle Kirk had gone through and the things she had heard from Krall when he spoke only served to make her feel cold and uncomfortable.

He had been raging about how he'd found his purpose in life when he'd lost his humanity. How he wanted to bring the galaxy back to war, because he felt that fighting and conflict was what made humanity strong.

He had clearly never been to Hestia.

The Mas'heirs had essentially invaded, launched a war of their own, and the Empathics had NOT grown stronger for it. They had not found a unity, they had not found a purpose of their own, only what the Mas'heirs told them they could and would do.

She couldn't help but think, the small voice in the back of her mind speaking up, that when Kirk spoke of how Krall underestimated humanity, that it was similar to herself. Her enemies underestimated her, because of her culture and her people, and they often found out how wrong they were.

It had not pleased Krall to hear such a thing, he had continued to rage about how it wasn't fair the Federation made peace with the enemy to stop the wars, how it should have been a fight to the true death. He resented the ship and position he'd been given, to go from a soldier to an explorer, that wasn't his calling. He was a soldier.

Krall didn't want to hear anything about how the war had been won, how HE had won the war for humanity and gave them peace. Peace wasn't what he had been born into, and now he was going to end it.

She had heard crashing and fighting, pained noises coming from her captain and she knew the strike of fear she'd felt was from him.

A moment before the doors opened, she could hear Kirk shouting, "No!"

She ran down the hallway the doors opened to, working to get the exit at the end open, as she heard another shout of, "NO!"

The door opened just as she caught sight of the artifact, now activated and with a black mist starting to swarm around it, floating up through an opening in the ceiling, a hatch opening, up to the center. Krall had followed through with his plan. The man, though, didn't appear to be watching it as he focused on Kirk, who had run at him. He did not appear as though the alien she had heard he appeared to be, but instead looked more like he had in the video Uhura had seen, though there was a distortion she could see even from behind, an unnatural paleness, a smoothness and bulging in other places that gave off an alien feel, as though he were caught between two worlds.

Krall had gotten the captain by the throat, holding him back against a wall, both men had a hand to the other's throat, but it was clear to her that Krall had the upper-hand in terms of strength and rage, fueling his actions.

"Captain!" she could hear Scotty shouting over a fallen comm. of Kirk's own on the ground, "We have to stop the processor now or everything breathing in Yorktown is dead!"

Cora tried to work out what to do, if she used her abilities, Kirk would undoubtedly get caught in the crossfire of it and it would serve no one any good if that happened. And then she realized, Krall didn't appear to notice she'd reached them, he was too fixated on Kirk. She looked down at her hand and up at Kirk, catching his eye over Krall's shoulders. She held up her hand in a sign, her expression grim and reluctant, but she gave him a nod, telling him she would do it.

Kirk began to smirk as he focused back on Krall, "Your crew's dead, Edison," he spoke, half taunting the man to keep him focused on him and not Cora as she got closer, "Mine isn't."

"Your crew will not be able to stop me," Krall growled out.

"Maybe," he admitted, "The crew won't. ONE of them will."

"You?" Krall scoffed, tightening his grip on Kirk's neck.

Before he suddenly released him, collapsing to the ground with a cry of pain, something having just tapped the back of his neck.

His vision swam as his body seized, a mixture of pain and numbness surging through him, paralyzing him, but weakening him as well, settling deep into his bones. He managed to move onto his back, having fallen on his side, blinking as rapidly as he was panting, trying to clear his vision from the white that had invaded it. The ringing in his ear only just subsided as his vision refocused on Kirk smirking down at him.

"No," he answered Krall's last question, "Her," he nodded over at Cora, who looked unsure of what to do and so she just gave him a small wave. Kirk straightened and looked over at Cora, "Always the secret weapon."

Cora shifted a bit at that, looking down at Krall. It had been a good thing that she had anticipated needing to use some of the more negative emotions against Krall, to subdue him, to protect her captain. It had been truly hard to cause the man pain, despite the pain he had caused others. She had had to truly force the emotion to the forefront in order to bring down Krall the way she had. But he was down and her captain was alive, and there was still a chance to contain this.

"Cora, now would be the time to use your secret weapon," Kirk remarked, looking up as the artifact started to make its way into the main chamber.

Cora nodded and quickly knelt down, sifting through the flowers.

"You can't stop it," Krall murmured, wheezing, "You will die."

"Better to die saving lives than to live with taking them," Kirk countered, "That's what _I_ was born into. Cora?"

Cora stood a handful of seeds in her hand and she moved to the hatch, Kirk watching as she carefully made her way up towards it, gripping into the edge of the room to keep from floating up as well, but releasing the seeds.

Kirk gaped as he watched Cora intently focus on the seeds, as they began to grow as they floated up, without soil, without true sun, without water. They grew, their roots connecting as the stems entwined, moving to try and surround the black mist of the artifact. He shook his head as the mist was contained. Each time a strand tried to escape, one of the flowers would release seeds, attracting the mist back to it instead of expanding outwardly.

"Since when can you do that?!" Kirk called up to her.

"I do not know the exact point," she told him, not wanting to lie and so she interpreted his words to merely mean make the flowers grow. She honestly hadn't known if she would be able to weave them the way she had. She hadn't intentionally tried to. She merely tried to extend more emotion in some areas to draw the roots or stems in that direction. She did not think admitting to such a thing would help comfort or reassure him, but there was one thing she could not lie about "I am not certain how long I can maintain it."

"Right," Kirk nodded, looking over at Krall once more, before leaning down go grab his comm. again, "Scotty!" he called into it as he began to make his way up the hatch after Cora.

"Captain," Scotty replied, "I think we can redirect it. There's a sealed construction hatch that will let you vent the weapon into space. Now we can override the locks from up here but you will have to activate the hatch."

"Cora," he looked over at her, "Can you maintain it for that length?"

Cora's face scrunched, "I believe so, but I will ask for haste, Captain Kirk."

"On it," Kirk nodded, starting to move along the walls of the center, being sure to keep close enough to them so as not to tempt the mist, "So I just hit a button," he stated into the comm..

"It's not a button, sir," Scotty told him, "It's a silver lever under a white panel."

"Got it!" Kirk spotted them and began to get to work, heading for the first one, keeping Cora in the corner of his eye as he went.

"And there's four of them," Scotty added, "Once you've primed the hatch you'll have to exit the chamber immediately. If the hatch is open when the processor cycles and you're in it, you're gonna get sucked into space."

Kirk got the first lever set, "What happens if the hatch isn't open?"

"You're gonna get sucked into a big fan with the weapon," Scotty told him as he got the second lever set, "And we all die."

Cora almost looked over when she heard the sound of Leonard McCoy over the comm., unaware the line to he and Spock had been open as well, but she caught herself in time and kept her focus on the flowers once more.

"Damn it, Jim!" McCoy shouted as Kirk got to the third lever and set it, "You won't make it out in time!"

Cora could hear Kirk grunting as he struggled with the last lever.

"The vent!" Jaylah's voice echoed through the room, "Get out of there Jim!"

Kirk glanced over, hearing a loud grinding noise and spotting the vent to space beginning to open, but he needed to get this working or they'd lose their window.

"I believe the last lever is stuck," Cora called out to the comm. for him.

"Cora?" Spock's replied, "What are you…"

But he was cut off by Kirk calling, "Scotty, the last hatch won't open! Scotty!"

"Work fast, Captain," was all Scotty could offer, "Time's running out! You've got seconds!"

Cora gasped, seeing Krall starting to float into the cage, having recovered from the experience of her abilities, the man grabbing a shard of glass as he went. If she tried to stop him, she would lose focus on containing the artifact, but if she didn't, he could hurt her captain for she could sense no helpful intent off him. She looked over at the edge of the center, where the glass had shattered and up at Kirk, hoping she was making the right decision, that she would be fast enough.

"Captain Kirk!" she called out, moments before Krall moved to stab him, and released her efforts on the artifact to turn her focus to Krall.

Kirk glanced over his shoulder at her call, just in time to see Krall tense behind him, jerking back in a natural reaction, and sailing right into the black mist as it consumed the flowers and began to surround Krall as well.

Right at that moment, the vent opened and the vacuum began, but the hatch and fan were still in the way, the air being sucked towards it and towards space. It took Krall and the artifact with it, but also began to suck the two of them towards it as well.

"No!" Kirk struggled, focusing on the lever, not seeing Cora cautiously making her way to the glass, grabbing tight to the bottom of the center as she went. He grit his teeth, "No!" and slammed his hand on the lever, finally getting it to move, turning the fan off and allowing Krall to be pulled straight into space with the artifact.

"Manual override engaged," a computerized voice called out.

"Captain Kirk!" Cora shouted, grabbing his arm as he was nearly pulled out by the forced of the vacuum, grabbing onto the edge of the case with one hand and trying to hold onto him with the other. It was difficult, the vacuum was too strong, "I cannot hold much longer!" Cora warned him, her grip not on his hand but on the edge starting to slip.

"Cora, let go of me," Kirk ordered her, knowing she'd have more of a chance of holding on with two hands.

"No!"

He didn't even have a chance to shout to her about how she had actually disobeyed an order from her captain, when she lost her grip and the two of them went flying away.

They didn't get far though, not even remotely close to the vent or the fan, as Spock and McCoy arrived. Kirk would not have put it past Spock to demand McCoy turn the ship over to them the second he realized Cora was in the center with him.

They scrambled to try and grab onto some part of the ship, but it wasn't till the hatch on top opened and Spock stood within it, that they found it. Spock reached out to grab their arms, but only managed to grab Kirk's from the force of how they were being pulled and the odd angle the change in air currents had moved them.

Cora gasped as their flight was interrupted, her arm stinging from the sudden shift and jolt, but this time it was Kirk's turn to hold onto her as he was pulled to safety. The second he was stabilized on the ship, he and Spock both reached out to take an arm each and pull her in more, the two of them joining Spock and McCoy inside the ship, as they collapsed to the ground with pants of relief.

Though Kirk had to smile and shake his head when he realized Cora had somehow collapsed half on Spock's lap, though the Vulcan made no attempt at all to push her away, instead winding his arms around her to hold her closer to him in his relief that everything was alright once more.

"Whoo-hoo!" McCoy cheered from he controls as he piloted them away, the vent closing behind them, Krall already lost to space with the artifact.

Kirk reached out to pat Spock's shoulder, "What would I do without you, Spock?" he asked, "You or your mate," he let out a gentle laugh, leaning back to rest against the side of the ship, his head thumping back as his eyes closed.

Spock didn't think much more on what Kirk said when he felt a contentment and a joy, a relief and a sense of elation that could only come from doing good, fill him. He knew Cora was projecting, she had to be, for him to feel her emotions so strongly, though Kirk and McCoy did not show any outward signs of feeling the same, he was sure they did.

He let out a breath when he felt her thoughts echoing in his mind, about how she was fine, she was well, she was safe. They both were.

He looked down at his mate in his arms, her eyes closed as she rested against him. He closed his eyes as well, resting his forehead to hers as they just took a moment of relief and reassurance that they had both survived.

Kirk peeked an eye open to smile at the sight of them, cuddled up and connected at the forehead. He didn't need to be an Empathic to know they were both reveling in being safe and together once more.

And so was he, his crew was safe and together once more.

A/N: I apologize this wasn't up yesterday, I went out to meet a friend to catch up and thought I'd be back sooner than I was, but we ended up going to see a movie too and I didn't get back till late :( But it's up now :D

I felt like it was odd, how the artifact surged around the room in the movie but then just stayed condensed and together in the air center. Like I get gravity, but that was a powerful force and it was just floating there? :/ So I wanted to come up with another reason why it was, Cora trying to use the planets to keep it contained and distracted :)

But next we get a bunch of conversations and revelations and a huge twist ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I can imagine Cora wanting to keep the Tribble from the last story, but with how they reproduce so quickly, I think they sort of had to force her to give it up :)

I'm not quite sure what your mini-story had to do with Cora and Yorktown, but it was interesting to read a little mini-fic of Cora if she were Sailor Pluto. I would probably equate her more as a mixture of Neptune and Saturn though, very calm and poised, deeply intuitive, but not really having the greatest past and having endured pain :( It was very amusing to read :)

We may see kittens one day, you never know ;)


	10. New Enterprises

New Enterprises

Cora sat down beside Spock in the room they had been given at Yorktown base before they had departed for Altamid. He was sitting there with Ambassador Spock's box positioned on a small table before him. She placed her small pack on the floor beside her, placing his box that she had salvaged from the Enterprise between them. She reached out to him with her abilities, wanting to be sure there was no lingering pain from being treated at Yorktown for the wound he had sustained. The medical officials there had commended McCoy for his quick thinking and resourcefulness, and had managed to fix up Spock even more, ensuring no danger of reopening and no infection.

"I am well," he spoke to her, "I feel no pain," he looked at her, "I rarely do when I am around you."

"I am not…"

Spock gave her a small smile as she tried to say she wasn't using her abilities on him now, "I know."

It took Cora a moment to realize how he meant that, before she smiled at the implication that just her presence made him feel better.

Spock looked back down at the box before him, slowly opening it and looking through the items inside. Much of their strife had begun after he'd found out about Spock Prime's death. It was only logical (or so he hoped it was logical) to assume there might be something there, in the box, that would help settle everything now.

He pulled out a small datapad, flipping a side open to reveal an image of the crew, Ambassador Spock's crew. He looked at the faces of the people he knew, all older, far past their prime, yet all still together and all still happy.

He watched as the image began to change, to Ambassador Spock and the Kirk of his timeline, the two clearly close and dear friends. A few more images began to play, more and more of his crew and his friends. He closed the datapad and set it back in the box, hesitating when he saw another, similar pad beside it. He picked that one up, curious as to what might be inside that one, and his eyes widened slightly when it powered up.

It was him, him and Cora to be more exact. Moments he shared with her on the Enterprise, smiling at each other, glances shared, a rare time when he could not contain laughter and she beamed beside him, and moments of quiet conversation, of just being near each other, though their care and contentment and comfort around each other was clear in each image. He didn't know how Ambassador Spock had come to acquire them, though he suspected it was Kirk and other members of the crew gathering them when he and Cora were unaware. He had not seen an image among the Ambassador's crew that indicated his counterpart had had a mate the way he did. Perhaps this was the Ambassador's way of ensuring he was happy, to realize he had a mate in this timeline.

He hoped that the Ambassador had found happiness in the end.

He turned the second pad off and placed it back in the Ambassador's box, taking a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts and turned to Cora, "I have given much thought to the topic of our last discussion, while we were separated on Altamid."

"Oh?" she asked, not sounding like she was bracing herself for the talk, but more that she was trying to give him the time and space to speak his thoughts.

"I cannot endure a life without you," he spoke, as though stating an undeniable fact, "Nor would I wish to ever be separated from you."

"Nor I you."

"I realized that New Vulcan is not the place where my purpose lies. It was a momentary thought brought about by shock and grief, but, ultimately, it would not be one I would see through. I…was not happy, when I was on Vulcan as a child. I willingly left my people for the Fleet. And through doing so, I have gained a crew, friends, and a mate. And I do not regret a moment of it."

"I am glad to hear that. I do not regret anything of my life with my crew and mate."

"It would be illogical for me to return to the people I left. I stand no more chance of being accepted now than I did then. I am not Ambassador Spock, that is who they lost. Not me, not _Spock_. It would not be fair to me, to endure a people who would make me feel less of myself, and it would not be fair to you to subject you to such a people."

"Spock," she sighed, "I cannot leave the Fleet."

"I know," he turned more to her, "And I understand why. I do. It was callous of me to disregard those feelings earlier. I was…"

"Experiencing grief," Cora finished for him.

"I was not thinking logically," he admitted, "And it caused you pain. And for that I am sorry."

"There is nothing to apologize for," Cora smiled at him gently, "I understand sorrow, I know you did not intend to cause any pain and so I hold nothing against you."

Spock let out a long breath and smiled, "Dr. McCoy reminded me of what you would endure had you felt able to leave the Fleet. It would be logical to assume my people would not be welcoming to you, as an Empathic. And, in being one, you would undoubtedly feel their displeasure."

"I would endure," Cora murmured after a moment, "If…if I _could_ leave, I would endure anything for you."

"As I you," he told her, "But I would not wish that on you. And neither of us have need to do so."

"I was not upset with you for wishing to return to your people," she felt she had to let him know that, she never wanted him to feel badly for having concerns for others, "It was more...a fear of being without you. The thought of living without my cherished one is…it is not something easy for an Empathic to imagine. I did not wish to lose you."

"This last event has reminded me of all the reasons I have to stay for. My planet has lost a Spock, I would not have my crew nor my mate lose a Spock either. I have more still to do here, with you. Of that I am certain."

Cora smiled to hear that and reached out to take his hand, "I believe we have more to do here as well, both of us. If…if you would accompany me, I believe I have found our new purpose."

Spock tilted his head at her response, but stood when she did and allowed her to lead him out of their room.

~8~

To say Spock was mildly confused when Cora led him to a quiet area of the base where a small row of flowers was starting to bloom would be accurate. He was uncertain why Cora had led him there, but it would be illogical to guess when she had reason to choose such an area and was going to tell him at some point. He was slightly more confused when, instead of sitting on one of the benches lining down a row she, instead, knelt on the grass near the flowers, moving to sit with her legs curled up next to her. She looked up at him and he understood that he was meant to sit with her and so he moved to sit on the grass as well.

"I…discovered something," Cora began, "Just before we reached Yorktown. I was concerned, with what Leonard McCoy and James T. Kirk said about how I had been projecting."

"I am certain they did not mean to cause…"

"I am grateful they told me," she cut in gently, knowing they hadn't meant anything to alarm or worry her, to make her feel bad for doing so, "It was not something I could sense myself doing, but it was something I should not have done. Empathics are taught from a young age to _always_ be in control of our abilities. To project in such a manner…was worrying, as was another instance."

Spock frowned, seeming to realize that there was something more going on, "There was something else affecting your abilities?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I did not think much of it. It is odd but not alarming for Empathics to struggle to bring up the less pleasant emotions here and there. I had not realized it had been taking longer than it should the last few times I had utilized such. It was not until James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy mentioned the projecting that I…theorized what it could be that was affecting me."

Spock grew serious, "Were you able to determine what it was?"

She nodded, "I went to the gardens on the Enterprise," she looked over at the flowers, "And the flowers told me."

"Forgive me, I am unfamiliar with that turn of phrase."

"It is not one," Cora looked back at him, "It is a method my people employ. When we project without intention, when we struggle to project when we wish to, they are signs of a shift within us."

Spock looked over as Cora moved to her knees, facing the flowers and he followed suit, watching as she held a hand over one of the flower buds. His eyes widened when he saw the buds begin to open beneath her hand, stretching and growing towards her, only stopping when it reached her palm. And when she moved it higher, the flowers continued to bloom and grow.

"I did not know Empathics could create such an affect," he murmured, honestly surprised.

"It is not an ability my people typically possess," she agreed, her gaze focused on the flowers, "It is not one we are encouraged to display when we do. The Mas'heirs…if they knew…if they saw…what they would do…"

"Cora?" he questioned with a frown.

Cora took a breath, gathering her thoughts, "I did not realize, at first. I was never told of it, I was not meant to be told. Because I was always to be sold, I was never to remain on Hestia, to become what all other women on my planet become. And so there was no need for me to know. But I heard whispers, of the signs, the test, what it meant…" she took another breath and Spock got the distinct impression she was gathering courage when she reached out to take his right hand, "There is only one time when an Empathic can affect life like this," she nodded at the flowers, "We can cause life to grow, only when we grow life within us."

Spock looked down as Cora moved his right hand she was holding to rest on her stomach, her hand covering his, and up to her.

"You are carrying our child?" he had to ask.

Logically, it could mean nothing else.

But it felt as though his mind were short-circuiting.

Cora looked up at him, tears in her eyes and nodded.

It was what the test was meant to show. It was but a whisper on Hestia, that when the women found themselves growing life within, they could affect life without. She had heard the murmurs, the questions about whether someone had 'made the flowers grow.' But only flowers, because they were simple and small and reacted to positive emotions, they were basic lifeforms and anything more complex, anything with a mind, could not be affected in such a way. The excess of energy and the pure emotion that radiated off of an expectant mother, so subtle not many other Empathics could even tell till later, could be felt by the flowers. Humans believed that speaking to flowers and positive emotion made them grow stronger and healthier and faster. It was essentially what Empathics could do when they were with child. The emotions were just absorbed by the plants, accelerated their growth.

Often, after she heard that question whispered among her people, there would be more tell that the person in question was with child. Empathics were not stupid, they knew that what the Mas'heirs did to them was cruel and torture and unfair. They knew the Mas'heirs took special interest in the Empathics who bore children. Anything they could do to hide a pregnancy as long as possible, without it being suspicious to the Mas'heirs, to protect the mother and child they would do.

The whispers were one, the test, inconspicuous and subtle.

She had never been set for the breeding program the way the other women were, she was an eleventh child and always meant to be sold. So no one, not even her family, had thought to tell her what would happen or what it would be like to fall with child. Everyone else, at the Academy, in the Fleet, she felt, just assumed she must know about all that already, it wasn't spoken of.

The signs were all she had to go on, projecting without intent and struggling to bring up emotions. Her body was unable to contain all she felt within her with the presence of a new life, and her body was trying to protect her from the emotions her soul tried to stir up that could cause her, and the child, harm.

"I know it is unexpected," Cora began when Spock was silent.

"Yes," he murmured, blinking, stunned, "Unexpected…but not unwelcome."

"No?" she looked at him, hopeful. She had heard many stories of how men could react to the news of a pregnancy and, while she did not think Spock would react negatively, she could not be certain.

"No," he agreed and looked at her, "It is…right," he offered, struggling to find the proper word to describe his thoughts, "It is…"

" _Ben'estat_?" Cora offered.

"Yes," he nodded, "That is how I feel. I am ready for something more, and I feel as though this is right."

Cora looked down when she felt Spock spread his fingers a bit more on her stomach, splaying them across the expanse, and another thought struck her. Of what she and Spock had spoken of before beaming down to Krall's base.

"I must admit…I am curious if that may be because of me."

"I do not follow."

"I have noticed, more and more, I feel as though I hear your voice in my mind," she admitted, moving to sit back down on the grass, Spock following suit though he moved closer to her, maneuvering himself so that he would not have to take his hand from her stomach. She wasn't even sure he had realized he was doing it, but it was a comfort to her.

"I am sure many who are together as often as we would imagine what their partner would say in situations," he offered.

"Except that it sounds like you, as though you are speaking to me as clearly as you are now. There are times I feel as though you _have_ spoken to me, but when I look up, you have not."

Spock blinked as he considered what she was saying.

"Neither you nor Leonard McCoy informed me that it had been a metal shard that pierced you," she added, "I was in pain, in the woods of Altamid, with James T. Kirk trying to help me through the loss of the crew. And I felt a terrible pain in my side."

"My injury," Spock realized.

She nodded, "It was as though I could _see_ you. You were resting against something, with a piece of metal near your heart, and then it was gone and you were hurt even more. I wanted to comfort you, to help ease your pain."

"I saw you as well," Spock remarked, thoughtful, "I thought I was delirious from the pain, that I had imagined you there with me, a comfort. But…I, too, experienced the effect of your abilities. The pain receded, numbed, my strength returned. And, I suppose, as I look back, there have been times I felt what you were, though I assumed you were merely projecting, but there is a strong possibility that you were not in those moments."

Cora let out a breath to hear that he had experienced the same. She could infer from the brief moments they had been able to speak while attempting to rescue the crew and Yorktown Base, but to hear it confirmed, it was a relief.

"It would seem our bond has strengthened," Cora murmured.

"That is the logical conclusion," Spock agreed.

And it made sense. It had been three years that they had been mated, a little less since they completed their bond. They were often together, hardly ever apart. After so long and in such proximity to each other, it was only logical that their bond would grow stronger.

They had wondered, at the start, if there would ever come a day where they would be able to reciprocate the type of bond each shared with the other. For him, it was a connection to Cora's mind, one which her people typically did not possess as their bonds were tied to their hearts. For Cora, it was a connection to his emotions, one his people did not possess for Vulcans were mildly telepathic in nature and valued logic over emotion. Neither had truly expected that their bond would grow in such a way though. Their species each had their own unique strengths and they had come to terms with what they were, with what their bond was.

Cora, especially, had not known what to expect. Vulcan's could create mental connections with others not of Vulcan, if they chose to. But she had not known it was possible for an Empathic to create an emotional bond to someone who was non-Empathic, till she succeeded with Spock, even if it had been one-sided for so long.

"Perhaps you have felt _ben'estat_ because our child had begun to grow," Cora couldn't help but wonder, "If I have begun to see your mind and you have begun to feel me…perhaps it was a natural reaction. I felt it in the signs, you in _ben'estat_."

"It is possible," Spock remarked, thinking on it. He had only recently begun to feel as though there was something more he should be doing and, if he recalled correctly, it was around the same time some of the crew had noticed her projecting without meaning to. It could be his own way of subconsciously realizing his mate was carrying their child and his mind preparing him for his new role as 'father.'

He was going to be a father.

He wasn't sure what he felt, there were so many different emotions flying through him. He was certain he should be shocked, afraid, perhaps even angry that she had known of this before Altamid, before Krall and Yorktown, and had not told him. But there was still a small scrap of logic in him, and he could understand that to tell him about her 'surprise' just after he'd been told of his own death was not a good point to do so, especially not after he had upset her with talk of leaving the Fleet, both of them were too emotional and such news deserved calm. And now he understood why she had reacted so strongly to his thoughts of New Vulcan. Neither of them could anticipate an attack of such a magnitude on the Enterprise, and in the middle of multiple rescue missions was also the wrong time to do so.

But, in the middle of all that he felt he _should_ feel…there was an acceptance, a contentment, an understanding that this, THIS, was the purpose he had been searching for. He had found it, and he would be able to experience it with his mate. He felt…ready.

His mother had once said that the single greatest experience of her life was being his mother, and now he would be able to experience the same as a father.

Cora moved her other hand to rest over hers and Spock's on her stomach, "I do not know if our strengthened bond is a natural occurrence after so long together, or a result of this."

Spock blinked, "You believe it could be our child affecting our bond?"

"I do not know," she looked at him, "As far as I am aware, there has never been an Empathic hybrid before, least of all an Empathic-Vulcan-Human one."

"Nor has there been a Vulcan-Empathic hybrid either," Spock agreed, "I do not know what to expect from this."

"Nor I," Cora took a breath, "Empathics can be felt from the wound," she spoke, thinking of the very few pregnant Empathics she had encountered, the stories her father used to share about sensing her within her mother when she had been further along, "But I cannot say if it is because the child is projecting its presence or we naturally feel it there."

"So it is possible our child could be projecting your emotions to me," Spock realized, "And, in being part-Vulcan, it could be sending my thoughts to you."

"It is possible," Cora agreed, "Though it seems impossible for it to be so strong so young."

That was another matter of it. There was no way to know, not until the child had been born and they could see if the new aspects of the bond remained. He could agree, though, that while it was _plausible_ the child could be responsible given they had no idea what to expect with this pregnancy nor a hybrid of such species, it DID seem impossible their child would have so much control over its abilities so young. Vulcan minds developed remarkably fast, but how soon was consciousness felt? Perhaps it was just that the pregnancy had made aspects of their strengthened bond that already existed more noticeable to them, that it had strengthened and they hadn't noticed because it was so gradual, until now, when it was impossible to ignore.

Spock took a deep breath, "It would seem illogical to concern ourselves with it at this point," he spoke carefully with his words, "We can only guess and that will garner no true answers."

"Agreed," Cora nodded, relieved, as she was quite certain there was going to be far more to worry about in the times to come, "So you are not disappointed?"

Spock smiled at her, "Do I feel disappointed?" he moved his free hand to touch her cheek as she closed her eyes, feeling all the emotions swelling inside of him that he struggled to reveal outwardly.

Joy, excitement, fear, anticipation, concern, anxiety, happiness, peace, comfort, wonder, nervousness, contentment, and, above all else, love, pure and complete love for her and their child.

He gently stroked his thumb along her cheek as a tear fell from her eyes. She opened them, smiling at him with so much love he didn't need to sense it off her or read her mind to feel it, he just knew. She lifted one of her hands, holding up two fingers to him in an offer of a Vulcan kiss, but he just pulled his hand from her face to curl his fingers around hers, tugging her forward to kiss her lips.

~8~

Cora couldn't help but smile more and more the nearer she felt Kirk and McCoy coming to where she, Spock, and the other crew members were waiting to surprise the captain for his birthday celebration. She could feel a change in Kirk, ever since they had secured Yorktown. There was an exuberance and an elation restored to him, a curiosity piqued, a renewal in his zest for life and sense of adventure. And she knew, without a doubt, her captain would not be leaving his crew.

She bit her lip to hold in a laugh at the very different emotions she was feeling from McCoy, he did not seem pleased, he was quite exasperated and frustrated.

It just served to make Kirk feel a swell of glee.

"They are coming," Cora whispered loudly to the others, Uhura instantly shushing everyone to be quiet.

And, soon enough, they could hear McCoy's voice as he and Kirk approached, "I know you told me to keep it under wraps but uh..."

As soon as the doors to the room were opened, the entire crew shouted out, "Happy Birthday!" to a very startled, but pleasantly surprised, and very appreciative, Kirk.

"Mr. Sensitive?" he muttered to McCoy as Scotty hurried over with drinks in hand.

"There you go, Laddie," Scotty offered it to Kirk and McCoy.

"Thanks, Scotty."

"Everybody," McCoy called out, holding his glass up, "Raise a glass to Captain James T. Kirk."

"Captain Kirk!" the crew shouted out.

Kirk was beaming at them, "Thanks, everybody," he raised his own glass too, "To the Enterprise."

"To the Enterprise."

"And to absent friends."

They all raised their glasses in silence and respect.

Spock gave Kirk a nod as he passed, before looking over at Cora as she beamed, so happy to be around her crew, though she hadn't told them what she had shared with him just yet, wishing to speak to the captain and a small handful of the crew first, "You look beautiful," he offered.

Cora's smile grew wider, glancing down at herself. She did not often dress so casually around the crew, always in her Fleet uniform. Nyota Uhura had helped her dress for this occasion, as she did not have any other clothing to her name but her uniforms and nightclothes. The woman had taken care to adhere to her tastes and customs and comfort when loaning her the outfit. It was a simple, sleeveless teal-blue dress, with a long-sleeved black sweater to wear over it, with black tights that weren't quite leggings but opaque enough for her to feel comfortable, and boots that started at her ankles.

"My thanks," she blushed, though this time she smiled at him instead of bowing her head, which had him grinning in return.

Spock glanced over to see McCoy eyeing Cora, his gaze lingering on the Vokaya amulet Cora continued to wear, and back to the Vulcan, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes as he walked off. Spock tilted his head at the man's reaction before looking back at Cora. He nodded his head over to the side of the room, to the high windows through which they could see a starship being built.

She nodded and began to head over towards it, his hand drifting to the small of her back as she passed and going with her. They looked up at the craft, it was to become their new home. It was the least Yorktown could do for the damage the Enterprise sustained because the head of the base had not insisted on utilizing the Empathic on the crew, had taken Kalara at her word, allowing them to enter a trap. For the loss they had endured in the death of some of their crew. For the loss of their ship, for the effort they went through to save the base, the risks they took to stop Krall. They had lost everything but each other, they deserved the next ship the base could provide.

A New Enterprise.

It would be fitting, a new ship for a new start, a new adventure for many of them and in more ways than one.

"Happy Birthday, James T. Kirk," Cora spoke a moment later, feeling Kirk approaching.

"Cora, it's _my birthday_ ," Kirk sighed good-naturedly, "Can I at least get a Jim today, of all days?"

Cora glanced over at him, "Happy Birthday, Jim."

Kirk grinned at that, though his expression grew more solemn when he looked to Spock, "I heard about Ambassador Spock," he told the man, "Is that what you wanted to mention that time in the turbolift?"

"More or less," Spock repeated Cora's words from that very moment, "I…considered leaving the crew, for New Vulcan, as it seemed a new purpose to have. And wished to ask your thoughts and help with finding a new purpose."

"I take it you don't need to have that talk any longer?" Kirk started to smile again.

"No," he answered, "I have found my purpose, here, with my mate and my friends," he looked over at Kirk, seeing his gaze drifting to Cora, opening his mouth undoubtedly to ask her what the 'surprise' was she wished to speak to the two of them about was, and knew Cora wished to tell a small gathering of the crew all at once, so he quickly added, "I trust your meeting with Commodore Paris went well."

"More or less," Kirk mimicked, "I also thought about leaving," he admitted, "But I also found my purpose too, with my crew."

Cora smiled, knowing the restlessness that had struck both men had now healed to a contentment within them, "I am very pleased you will not be leaving either."

"Thanks, Cor," Kirk smiled at her, "What was it you wanted to talk to the two of us about?"

"I would prefer to speak to you, Nyota Uhura, Leonard McCoy, Montgomery Scott, PAC, and Hikaru Sulu together, if at all possible, James T. Kirk."

Now that Spock had decided to stay, the topic she wished to speak to Kirk about was different, she could skip past just speaking to him and Spock and move to the select crew she wished to share her news with. She did not want to say too much to too many, neither she nor Spock knew how this would all go, what the outcome of their mating would be in the end. Mixing species could be complicated, difficult, and dangerous, they were realistic about that. They did not even know if the child would survive to term. She did not want too many to know yet. But those crew were the closest to her and, if the outcome was not a good one, they were the ones she would want around her and Spock to help them through it.

"Of course," Kirk nodded, growing serious and looking over, whistling to McCoy and heading over to whisper something. The man nodded, moving through the crowd to those she named, all of whom began to join them by the window while the others continued to chat.

"You really want to head back out there huh?" McCoy asked as he reached them with Sulu.

"I would like to," Cora spoke up even as Kirk rolled his eyes at his friend's question. All eyes turned to her, hearing a shaking in her voice that was out of place for such a simple answer.

"Cora?" Kirk frowned, noting how Spock was standing closer to her than normal for such a large gathering, "Everything alright?"

Cora looked to Spock who nodded, his hand on the small of her back in comfort and support, "I told you I could not speak of the flowers until I did my cherished one."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember, gotta say, you were a real Poison Ivy with the 'flower power' thing going on."

"I do not understand that reference."

"It's…nothing, continue," he waved it off.

"I have spoken to Spock and now I can speak to others," Cora looked to the crew before her, "An Empathic can only cause life to grow, such as with flowers, when they are growing life themselves."

It took a minute for the crew to realize what she was saying as none of them but Kirk, and Spock, had actually seen her do anything with flowers, but it was the second part that was more important anyway.

Uhura gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, "You're pregnant!?"

Luckily she had had enough sense, or perhaps she was in enough shock, to keep her voice down so only the small group of them could hear.

"What?" Kirk nearly choked on air, McCoy literally choking on the swig of the drink he'd just taken.

"Congratulations!" Chekov cheered, moving to hug Cora.

"Oh, Lassie, that's amazing!" Scotty did the same, beaming and just barely containing himself from shouting out 'drinks all around!' in his excitement.

"That's…that's…wow," Kirk blinked rapidly, before he looked at McCoy, who was being pat on the back by Sulu, "Did you know about this?"

"No," McCoy coughed out, before pointing at Cora, "As soon as this is over, we're taking a little trip to medical."

Cora nodded, "That is…that is something I wished to speak to you about," she opened her mouth and closed it, trying to find the words.

"Our child will be that of Vulcan, of Earth, and of Hestia," Spock spoke, trying to help.

Cora nodded, a hand drifting to her stomach, "Our child will be the first child of Hestia to be born _free_ ," she looked to the crew before her, trying to blink back the tears in the corner of her eyes, "And it should not be. It should not be the first child, nor the only child."

Kirk began to smile, seeming to realize she wasn't talking about her and Spock wanting more kids, but something else, "What are you trying to say, Cor?"

Cora looked at Spock, knowing that this request may be against the regulations of the Fleet, it may break the rules, the protocols, and so many other consequences could come from it. But she also knew, of any crew in the Fleet, hers would be the one to find a way around all of it, through it, discover loopholes, and ways to bend and avoid.

They would be the ones to make the impossible possible.

Spock gave her a nod and so she turned back to the crew, "Captain James T. Kirk…I would like to propose a mission."

Kirk nodded, "To do what?"

Cora took a breath, straightening herself, trying to keep her head held high and not bow down, not back down, because this was far too important and it had taken her far too long to realize just how possible it might be.

And so she spoke the words that had the potential to change everything.

"I wish to liberate Hestia."

To be continued...in...TBA! (no title just yet)

A/N: So a couple notes to come here, about this story, the next one, and other tidbits ;)

Ahh! Cora's with child! :D A bunch of you called it lol ;) I can understand it may not be the BEST place to have a kid, on a starship, especially with the dangers around them. But Kirk was born on a starship, his mother was a pregnant crew member, and in one of the TV shows for the series, there WERE children born and raised on board a starship if the parents were also crew. I take Sulu's daughter and partner not being on the Enterprise as either his partner not being in the Fleet or the two of them mutually deciding not to raise her on a ship. But there WERE children and babies on ships. Though, again, that is not saying the baby will be born. Mixed species pregnancies can come with a lot of complications.

We also don't know the time between this movie and the next (I heard there should be at least one more ST movie) so we may see Cora after the birth already happened or still pregnant or near the beginning/end of it, or after a pregnancy failed. I know pregnancy-stories aren't everyone's cup of tea, so just keep in mind if the next movie takes place a year or more after this one, there's a strong chance we won't see Cora pregnant, she would have already had the child (or possibly lost it). We'll have to wait and see.

On that note...

I'm going to announce here that I DO have another story planned for Star Trek, an original one that will explore the implied ending of this one, where the crew looks into if its even possible to do this mission. (so, in terms of a pregnancy-story, again, it may take place in the very early stages or where it's not noticeable. That and that story will not focus so much on the pregnancy as it will be on freeing Hestia, so it won't consume the story or be a main point.)

I've mentioned in a few notes on reviews throughout the course of the series that the reason the Fleet hasn't liberated Hestia before is for many reasons, non interference, no 'broken laws', no 'threats,' no requests for help, and other things. But right here, right now, Kirk has been given a loophole. An Empathic _is_ requesting Fleet help. The Fleet, however, is likely to find a way to say no, because Cora isn't on Hestia any longer, because, once sold, she isn't considered as belonging to Hestia/the Mas'heirs any longer, etc, just excuses to avoid going to 'war' against a planet because ONE Empathic stepped up when the rest haven't. Because of that, Kirk may not be about to tell the Fleet what they clearly plan to do next. Liberate Hestia. BUT, given Spock's penchant for rules and the prime directive, and all the trouble they've gotten into in the past for trying to bend the rules, they are going to need to be very, VERY extremely careful how they do this so they DON'T break Fleet protocols or spark a war, they need to find a way to operate within the rules and regulations this time. They need to be super careful they don't spark a war, because the brief times we've seen Cora on the offense, you cannot begin to imagine an army of Empathics when they are forced to fight. It would not end well.

I feel like I have a way to do it so you may just need to take me at my word and wait till that particular story to see if the plan makes sense and fits with the characters without going OOC or too non-canon or against the flow of things.

That being said, I'm going to hold off on posting the story and hold off on announcing the title for it.

I only say that because, if there IS a fourth movie, we don't know how long it will be between this one and the next, in terms of the characters. Will it be another near-3 years for their mission? Will it happen a week later? We don't know, and I sort of need to know given Cora's pregnancy. You know? :) If it's only like a week or a month after this movie takes place, then my original story may be posted AFTER that movie, because they are going to be doing some heavy duty planning for this. BUT if it's like 2 years after this movie, then the Original story will come next, sort of thing.

So no title, because it'll depend on which story, ST4 or the original, comes next and I can't say when the original will be up (if it takes place before the next movie).

For this chapter though, Cora and Spock finally had that talk :D Quite a few of them :) They cleared the air about the reactions to Spock Prime's death/New Vulcan, they've realized that their bond might be stronger than they realized as they seem to be reciprocating the bond in ways not typical for their species, Cora in her mind and Spock through emotions. And they're expecting! :D The flowers growing are following the same sort of ideal that plants grow faster and stronger when talked to or played calm/gentle music, or just positive vibes. A pregnant Empathic is like a powerhouse of those feels :)

I'm very excited for the original story though, because the crew is finally going to see Cora's home world, they're going to encounter Mas'heirs, they're going to see first hand what her people are subjected to. They've seen Cora, they knew her in the beginning, but didn't encounter her enough when she first entered the Academy to really KNOW her. Even Spock cannot imagine the life she had on Hestia. It's going to be heartbreaking, it's going to be gutwrenching, and it's really going to open their eyes to just how strong Cora, and all Empathics really are. Cora has realized her strength, but will her people see theirs?

We'll have to wait and see }:D

And now the story is over! :( Next I'll be posting my Captain America, Steve/Olivia, version of Winter Soldier in about a week. After that we'll return to the Thor universe with my Loki/Kona stories ;)

And, just to end...I really have to say thank you guys SO much! Really, I give each and every reader/reviewer/favoriter/follower/ko-fi giver/anythinger a virtual hug because you guys are amazing :) I write for all of you guys and I'm just so touched that you all liked the story and am truly thankful that you're enjoying Cora and Spock :) I'll do my very best to keep it up in the future, because you guys most definitely deserve it. I love you all :')

Some notes on reviews...

Loki and Kona will be coming up very soon, I'm just going to be posting one more Captain America story first and then we'll get to Ragnarok for them ;) So probably mid-September :)

Lol, you read my mind! :D That was exactly what I thought with Cora, with her red hair, manipulated the flowers lol :) So I HAD to sneak a little line about just that in this chapter ;) AND we got a mini-something coming maybe ;) I saw Mamma Mia 2 :)


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